The Kids Are Alright
by ExpendablesGirl07
Summary: Being surrounded by guns and knives in their home would frighten most children. Having family that killed for a living would be horrifying to most children. Knowing that there was a possibility that your family might not make it back on their mission would lead most children to depression. Jake Jensen and Sky Christmas weren't most children.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey there everyone! I recently re-watched the Expendables in preparation for the newest movie to come out, before I watched the Losers for the first time ever immediately afterwards after my friend suggested it to me. I loved the Expendables already, but upon seeing the Losers I fell in love with that movie as well! And as I was watching it, I couldn't help but notice that there was a 'Jensen' in each movie: Gunnar Jensen, the unstable giant blonde of the Expendables and Jake Jensen, the hyperactive blonde hacker of the Losers. And of course my mind started going, wondering how interesting it would be if Jake was the son of Gunnar. After all they're both blonde, with blue eyes and they're both tall. So I searched for crossovers of these two and didn't find many, so I decided to make my own! This story is going to be a crossover of both the Losers and the Expendables, as Jake grows up and it'll have a very key OC that's related to one of the Expendables members! I hope you like it!

Full Summary: Being surrounded by guns and knives in their home would frighten most children. Having family that killed for a living would be horrifying to most children. Knowing that there was a possibility that your family might not make it back on their mission would lead most children to depression. Jake Jensen and Sky Christmas weren't most children. They're two badass kids raised in a world of harsh reality and an unknown future. There were days when it was hard and days when they wanted a different life, but together, they made it through. They weren't most children, they weren't normal; and they were perfectly okay with that.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_Suffolk County, New York _

_November 13__th__, 1996_

It was cold. It was so cold. The cold winter breeze hit her skin, making the blood on her arm feel even colder than it already was. Her thin t-shirt and pajama pants did nothing to shield her tiny body from the harsh winter. Her toes were cold and numb and her teeth chattered as she sat on the front porch of the suburban home, clutching the phone in her hands as if it were her only anchor to the world. Another wind blew through, ruffling her short curly dark brown hair that just barely dusted her shoulders. She shook again as she fought off another round of tears. She knew the tears would just make her colder. Sitting on the darkened porch, the little girl looked up into the night sky, seeing the silhouettes of trees missing their leaves. They looked like monster claws moving in the wind ready to snatch up little girls. And the stars were covered by dark clouds, the only light coming from a yellow street lamp across the street.

The little girl had been sitting there in that same position for over an hour. The needle men had left just before she had taken her mommy's phone. She hated the needle men. They always stuck pointy needles into their arms and hit her when she asked why. It hurt. And she hated her mommy's friends. They always made fun of her. Sometimes when they had too much grown-up drinks they'd hit her and her mommy would just watch on the couch. Whenever her friends came over, her mommy wouldn't care about her. That was another reason she hated them. But tonight was different. Her mommy let the needle men take some of her blood and take some pictures of her, talking about 'clients'. She didn't know what they meant, but she knew it was bad. It felt like something bad was happening and she didn't like it. So when the needle men left and her mommy's friends stopped hitting her, she went to her mommy's room and took her phone.

She remembered her mommy taking her on vacation once to meet her daddy. They went somewhere where everyone talked real funny, and her daddy talked funny too, but different than the other people. Her daddy was really nice. She liked him. He didn't let his friends hit her. He gave her presents and read her stories. And he told her to call him if she ever wanted to see him or if she needed anything. So she took her mommy's phone and tried to find her daddy's phone number. It took a while for her fumbling fingers to find her daddy's name. She remembered it because she liked his name.

Lee Christmas.

The little girl called her daddy and talked to him for a few minutes, just listening to his voice. But when she heard her mommy's friends laughing loudly from behind the door she started crying. She told him what happened, what's _been_ happening, in broken up childish words, begging him to come and get her because she was scared. It hadn't taken two seconds for him to quickly assure her that he would be there to get her before someone else could lay their hand on her. He told her to wait somewhere safe and to keep the phone so she could call him if something happened. So she sat on the porch, clutching the phone, too afraid to go back into the house and at least find warmer clothes to wait in.

Another cold wind blew past her and she started rocking back and forth, trying to keep warm. The tears she tried to hold back flowed from her big brown eyes, making warm tracks down her cheeks before the wind blew by, cooling it along her skin. She wanted to go inside so badly. She was so cold, so tired. But she was scared. She couldn't go inside. Her mommy's friends were still there, laughing loudly. She could still hear them. She wanted to be gone. She wanted to be anywhere but there. She remembered one time her mommy took her to church once. The man at the front had said that Heaven was nice, that God would protect everyone even little kids like her. She wished she could be with God. She was sure he'd be nicer to her than her mommy, and she bet it was warm in Heaven.

Lights down the street made her stop rocking. She looked at the street and saw a car. She frowned. She'd seen a lot of cars drive past the road. None of them stopped. None of the drivers looked her way. None of them cared. She started rocking again, ducking her head down to rest it on her knees so she could cry without the wind hitting her face.

"Skylar."

Sky looked up in surprise and saw that the car she'd seen _had_ stopped. And the two men standing outside the car, just at the edge of the street were both ones she recognized. The big man with dark hair and dark eyes with tattoos on his arms; that was Barney. She remembered his name because it was the name of Barney the dinosaur and that was the only movie her mommy ever bought her to watch. And the slightly shorter man with a shaved head and hazel eyes, she remembered. It was her daddy. More tears filled her eyes as she looked at her father.

"D-Daddy…"

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, rushing up the steps of the porch to gather her up into his arms. She pressed her face against his chest, feeling warm for the first time in what seemed like hours. Her tiny hands grabbed onto his shirt, trying to seek more warmth and he started rubbing his hands up and down her arms. "Skylar, baby girl, you're freezing."

"Skylar, honey," the other man, Barney, spoke up, petting her hair softly. He looked at her like he was scared and she didn't know why. "Why is there blood on your arm?"

"T-The n-n-needle m-men," she managed to say.

"Barney, take her back to the car," her daddy said. "Get her warm and make sure she's safe. I'll take care of things here."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"D-Daddy?" Sky stuttered, looking up at him.

He looked down at her and pushed some hair out of her eyes. "Yes love, what is it?"

"C-Can I live with you? I d-don't want to go back in there."

"That's what I'm here for sweetheart," he assured, kissing her forehead. "I'll go get your stuff. You'll be living with me from now on, okay?"

"O-Okay."

"Now I'm going to leave you with you Godfather, Barney, okay? He's going to make sure you're all warm while I talk with your mother."

Sky nodded once before her father passed her over to Barney. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face in his chest as he placed his arm under her bottom and his hand on the back of his head, walking her back to the car. He opened the doors and they got in before he turned on the car and warm air hit her skin. She turned toward the warmth and nearly pressed her face against the vents. "Not too close," Barney said, lifting her up to sit her down on the seat just next to his. He turned to look at her before he took her tiny little feet in his hands, warming them up instantly as he rubbed them. "Where are your shoes?"

"I-I forgot to get them," Sky muttered sadly, ducking her head down. She was finally warm and could feel her toes again.

"That's alright, kiddo, you're dad's getting them." Sky's attention was drawn by the house, worry filling her. Was her daddy okay? Would her mommy's friends hurt him? "Sky, how long has it been since we've seen each other?"

Sky turned back to look at Barney and poked her lips out before looking up in thought. "Um… I think during Thanksgiving last year!"

"Really? It was that long ago?" He asked. "So how old does that make you now, four?"

"I'm five years old!"

"Five? That can't be," Barney smiled, still warming her feet before he started tickling them, causing her to laugh and try to jerk her feet away. "You're getting so big!" Sky smiled up at him and was going to tell him that she was going to be an adult soon when she opened her mouth and let out a loud yawn. She felt her eyes water slightly and when she looked back at her Godfather he was looking at her with a knowing smile on his face. "Why don't you take a nap? We're going to have a big plane ride ahead."

"I'm going on a plane?" Sky asked, her eyes shining with delight. "I've never been on a plane."

"We're going to be on a very special plane," Barney assured with a smile on his face before lifting Sky up so she was on his lap, resting against his chest. "Tell you what, if you take a nap, I'll wake you when we're on the plane. It'll take some time for your dad to get your stuff so you get some sleep okay?"

Sky wanted to stay up. She wanted to make sure her daddy was okay. She wanted to make sure that her daddy wasn't being hurt by her mommy's friends, but she was so sleepy. And Barney was really warm and comfy. She leaned on his chest and let her eyes start to close, nodding slightly and mumbling to him about waking her up when they were on the plane. That was the last thing she remembered before she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Lee Christmas was absolutely seething as he walked into Michelle's house. He hadn't expected it to be quite as bad as it was. There were beer cans everywhere, absolutely littering the floor, open pizza boxes, drunken bodies laid out on the floor. There were around seven men and four women, not including Michelle, who was sprawled out on the couch with a half-filled bottle in her hands. His blood boiled, but he kept his mind as clear as he could. He pulled out his phone and started taking pictures, walking through the house. He found another three men, all awake and drunk, in the kitchen and the dining room. He snapped pictures of all of them, one of which who had no clothes on.

It took every ounce of self-control in his body not to kill each and every person in the house. His hands itched to take his knives, but he couldn't do it. He had to get his daughter's stuff first then he had to get her out of the state. He walked through the home, ducking into a room to see a couple having sex on the bed. He snapped another picture, rolling his eyes and walked to the next room. This one was much smaller than the one he'd been in previously; it looked more like a closet than a bedroom, and his anger surged once again when he saw that the room was filled a small bed, a tiny closet off to the side and a small dresser. There was one teddy bear on the bed, with a baby blanket—both which he recognized as items _he_ bought for his daughter. Other than that, there seemed to be no other personal effects.

Lee sucked in a deep breath before walking over to the closet door, opening it up and looking around for a bag. After rifling through the largely empty closet, he spotted a black duffel bag at the back and wasted no time in opening it up and gathering all her clothes. There were only a few shirts and pants in the closet, and going through the dresser he saw just around the same amount of clothing. He cleared both areas out before grabbing the teddy and baby blanket. He zipped up the bag before walking out of the room and out of the house without anyone even realizing he'd ever been there. He took the porch steps two at a time and didn't slow down until he tossed the duffel bag into the back seat. He slipped into the passenger seat and saw Sky asleep on Barney's chest. He motioned for her and the large Italian passed her over without hesitation.

"Drive," Lee ordered as soon as his daughter was in his arms.

Barney did so and didn't ask questions. For that Lee was grateful. He made sure he kept a firm grasp on his daughter, letting his hand rest against her small back. The half an hour drive to the airstrip they landed on was done in absolute silence. They returned their rental car and made their way to their plane, Barney carrying the duffel bag while Lee carried Sky. Only after they had finished the flight procedures and started down the runway did Barney finally speak. "Are those people still alive?"

"They're breathing."

"How bad was it?"

"I'm going to get full-custody of Sky, no questions asked when I show a CPS agent the pictures I took," Lee responded immediately, his voice tight, trying to contain his anger.

Barney nodded once. "So looks like we're going to have a little girl running around."

"Looks like it," the knife thrower said, looking down at his daughter in his arms. "I'm not letting her go back to her mother, so I'm the only one she has left. But what if—"

"We can deal with the 'what if's' when they come," Barney cut his friend off just as they took off, heading into the air. "Right now, she needs you. That's what matters."

Lee sucked in a breath and nodded before leaning down to kiss Sky's forehead, a small smile on his face. "She is beautiful, isn't she?"

"She's gorgeous. But, do me a favor and wake her up before we land. I promised her she got to be awake for her first time in a plane."

Lee looked down at his daughter and pushed a strand of hair away from her face as she let out a huff of breath. She adjusted herself on his chest and let out another little sigh before her breathing evened out, her little chest rising and falling. His fingers ghosted over the blood stains on her arm and his anger skyrocketed again. Whoever did this to his daughter—whoever these needle men were—he'd find them and make sure they'd pay. And he would keep his daughter with him. He would always be with her to make sure that he'd be able to protect her. He would protect his daughter no matter what.

* * *

"She's been through hell, hasn't she?"

Barney nodded gravely towards Tool, watching as the former mercenary and current liaison grabbed one of Sky's little hands, rubbing his thumb across the back of it. Lee didn't move so that she didn't wake up in his arms while Tool looked her over. The two men had arrived back in New Orleans within an hour and Lee had woken Sky up for the trip. She was a extremely hesitant about being on a plane, and it took no time at all for her father to figure out that she was afraid of heights. So he persuaded her to fall asleep again. She'd been asleep for the entire trip, even when they showed up at Tool's tattoo shop, their current base of operations and living quarters until they found a more permanent solution. Tool had taken the news about a child staying with them quite well and he'd actually been happy with the little girl in the former British SAS soldier's arms. She was cute, but with the blood on her arm and the story that Lee told him, he was worried for the little thing.

"She'll be staying with me in my room," Lee spoke up without responding to the question. "I'm going to wake her up and give her a shower first. In the morning we'll have to explain some things to her and discuss how much of what we do she'll know. See you in the morning."

With that, Lee walked away from the others and towards the lift of the tattoo shop going up to the floor that their rooms were located. Barney and Tool watched him go with his daughter in hand. Tool turned back to Barney with a small smile on her face. "The kid's cute."

"Yeah, she is."

"It might actually be good having her here. A little bit of light and hope with a bunch of guys like us."

"I think you might be right."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana _

_June 29__th__, 1997_

"Daddy, daddy!"

Lee immediately set down the cup of coffee in his hands and turned away from the conversation he was having with Barney and Tool to look to the stairs in the back corner of the room. Sky was running down toward them, forgoing the lift, with a sheet of paper in her hands and a large smile on her face. He opened his arms up for her to jump into and he smiled, lifting her up into his lap and kissing her cheek. "There's my girl. What have you got there?"

"I drew you all a picture!" Sky announced, practically beaming with pride, waving it around like a flag.

"You did?" Lee asked with his own smile widening. "Now, let's see it."

Lee took the paper and spread it across the desk he'd been leaning on while Barney and Tool got up from their seats to look at the illustration. The picture was of the four of them, standing in front of an unevenly drawn image of Tool's shop. Barney had a cigar in his mouth, Tool had his hat, and Lee had knives in his hands. Just next to the image of her father was what he assumed was Sky, holding onto her father's hand that didn't have the knives in it. "Wow, that's just beautiful. You even got my eyes just right," Barney commented with a smile, ruffling her hair slightly, causing her to laugh.

"And you've got my shop in there too," Tool added on, patting her head.

"Look daddy I even drew your knives!" She announced, pointing to the grey lines on the picture.

"That you did," he smiled, kissing her temple. It had been a little over seven months since he'd taken Sky back with him to Louisiana. The same week he brought her back, he'd called CPS, and gave them all the information he'd collected and even brought Sky in to tell her what happened. He filed for full-custody, and was granted it just as he predicted. He'd received threatening calls from Michelle saying that she would get Sky back no matter what, but he didn't put much stock in it. He was a former soldier and a current mercenary. She wouldn't get Sky back. And his daughter had adjusted fairly quickly to her new life. She got along well with Tool—who absolutely spoiled her rotten—and with Barney who wasn't much better than Tool, though he was very responsible. She did have nights where she had nightmares or days where she didn't want to talk too much, but other than that she was like any normal little girl who had just had her sixth birthday just a few weeks ago.

The only little hiccup in her living with them so far happened three months into her stay. Lee, Barney, and Tool had all been awake and in the back portion of the tattoo shop, cleaning their guns in preparation for an upcoming job. Tool had been giving them all the details when Sky had walked in, rubbing her eyes and holding her teddy bear. Lee had immediately dropped what he was doing and tried to grab his daughter before she saw anything, while Barney and Tool tried hiding the guns. But she saw it, despite their best efforts and when he father picked her up she had immediately pointed at the table, asking questions at a rapid pace.

Knowing they couldn't hide it from her anymore, the three men all sat down with her and explained to her what exactly they did. They explained that they were all former soldiers and that they were now 'soldiers that go where people need them' called mercenaries. She actually took the conversation rather well and only asked childlike questions about what they did, instead of being afraid that they were going to have lots of guns around. And whenever they left for missions she would make them wear 'good luck charms' so they could stay safe. The good luck charms were really some item of hers like a plastic ring or a small toy on a string that she had dubbed lucky that they had to wear around their necks at all times. It melted their hearts each and every time she ran out to the front door to give them their charms before they left.

"You know, if all goes well you might have to add another person onto that picture," Lee reminded, gently wrapping his arms around her waist.

Sky's eyes lit up in realization before she looked up at Barney and Tool, seeing as she couldn't see her father's face. "Is the new soldier coming today?"

"That he is," Tool answered, walking back over to his tattoo station to grab a file he'd been looking through regarding the newest person looking to join their team. For the last year, they had been limited in the types of jobs they could take because of the fact that it was only Barney and Lee on the team. Since their job is something that can't exactly be advertised in a newspaper or craigslist they had to wait until someone showed interest or one of Tool's contacts sent someone his way. And only recently had word gotten to them that there was a man looking to join them. Normally Barney and Lee would've immediately brought the man in and meet with him, but because of the fact that Sky was now with them, they had run background check after background check, compiling a detailed file on their potential recruit. "He should be showing up sometime this afternoon."

"Do you think he'll be nice?" Sky asked, starting to play with her father's fingers on her stomach, causing him to smile and start ticklin her stomach. She giggled lightly before turning to Barney to answer her question.

"I'm sure he'll be nice," Barney assured with a shrug.

"But daddy's got to get ready to meet him, alright?" Lee said, bouncing her on his knee. "So what do you want for lunch?"

"Cookies!"

Tool started walking towards the small kitchen in the back. "I've got some Oreos still—"

"Cookies aren't lunch," Lee cut in, tossing the older man a look. If he didn't watch their liaison, he would end up spoiling his daughter. Tool just shrugged sheepishly before the knife-thrower turned his attention back to his pouting daughter in his lap. "What else would you want?"

Sky made a big show of tapping her chin and looking up in thought, before she smiled widely and turned her torso so she was looking directly at her father. "I want chicken nuggets!"

"We don't have any chicken nuggets, sweetheart," Barney answered with a frown. "You ate the last of it yesterday."

The little girl poked her lips out into a pout, her brown eyes widened in her most pitiful looking puppy dog pout. It was the very same look she used to completely control every one of the men, without her even knowing it. Immediately Lee kissed her cheek and hugged her tighter. "Tell you what, how about I get you some chicken nuggets from the Burger King down the street."

She immediately beamed. "Yes, please!"

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit. Barney is in charge until I get back."

"Okay!"

* * *

Heat hit the back of his neck and his arms, making his already annoyed mood worsen as Gunnar Jensen walked down the streets of New Orleans, heading for Tool's Tattoo Shop. The six-foot five blonde man had a scowl plastered on his features, his blue eyes narrowed as he stalked down the street towards the large sign hanging just at the end of the block, signaling his intended stop. Ever since dropping out of MIT to be a bouncer, Gunnar had been stuck in a vicious circle. He only made enough money to pay his rent, bills and food before the next month came and all his money went back to expenses. And when the very girl he had dropped out of MIT for showed up on his doorstep with a three month old baby boy and dumped him on the Sweden, he knew that he couldn't keep living the way he was. They'd survived on his salary as a Bouncer for seven years, but it wasn't enough anymore. Taxes were higher, food more expensive, and he wanted to send Jake to a different school. He needed a change, a different job that paid more and preferably had fewer hours, but finding a job like that was like winning the lottery.

He heard about Tool through some guys at the club, and he decided to check it out. That was the whole reason he was walking through this shady part of New Orleans. He could see a group of wannabe gangsters on the street opposite him, talking and shouting loudly about whatever it was that they found entertaining. There were some women standing on the corners, smiling flirtatiously at anyone and everyone that passed by. If there was any place for a mercenary headquarters to be, he honestly couldn't think of anywhere more fitting.

Gunnar pulled open the door to the tattoo shop and a bell dinged above him. He scanned the area with a practiced ease. There was a couch on the wall to his right with a table in front of it, books of tattoo work on the top. The walls were full of sample works over the blue and black walls. There was a billiards table just a few feet away from the couch. On his left against the wall was a big oak desk with a bell, and a variety of papers thrown haphazardly on top of it. Just in front of him he could see individual tattoo stations that weren't currently being used and three motorcycles parked in an entrance that looked specifically made for that purpose. There was a hallway past the stations that looked like it led to an attached garage and a set of metal stairs and a lift that led up to what looked like more rooms, but other than that it looked like a normal tattoo shop.

Normal except for the little girl who had suddenly popped up from behind the desk next to him.

The little girl had short curly dark brown hair that barely dusted his shoulders and big brown eyes that were turned in his direction. She smiled widely at him, her entire face lighting up and she quickly shuffled a bunch of the papers on the desk in front of her, tapping them on the edge of the desk to organize them. She pushed them to the side and grabbed a big red crayon in a cup from the desk and looked back up at him again, her smile never wavering. "Hi! Are you here for a tattoo?" She looked up in thought for a second almost as if she was trying to make sure she said it right, before she looked back at him.

To say the kid threw him for a loop was an understatement. This was the seediest part of town, and there was a little girl around his son's age sitting behind the front desk of a tattoo shop looking like she was some sort of secretary. "Nah, not here for a tattoo," Gunnar replied easily, walking towards her so he was resting his forearms on the desk, lowering himself to her eye level.

"Are you here for a…" She trailed off before looking down at the desk, opening up a leather book on the table underneath a pile of papers to look for a specific word. "A… piercing?" She asked, batting her long eyelashes at him.

Gunnar narrowed his eyes slightly. His curiosity was now peaked. "How old are you kid?"

"Me? I just turned six!" She announced proudly, positively beaming. Before Gunnar could voice his next question—which was why the hell someone would leave a six year old in charge of the front desk of a tattoo shop—she tilted her head to the side, her smile falling off her face to be replaced with a frown. The change made Gunnar frown as well. He watched as she studied his face, and it took only a few seconds for him to realize she was looking at his scar. "What happened to your face?" She asked with sadness and concern in her voice.

The amount of emotion in her voice and the sadness in her expression confused him for a second. He simply shrugged. "I got hit." He was going to go back to asking his original question before he saw it. He saw the pale, faded scar that travelled just starting underneath the little girl's bottom lip and travelling past the middle of her chin. It was a small little scar, probably around an inch or so, and it was thin. It was practically unnoticeable to someone who wasn't looking for it. But Gunnar was much more observant. He clenched his jaw, having a sneaking suspicion as to what the cause was, but he couldn't help but ask. "What happened to your face?"

Her face grew even more sullen and she looked down at her hands, playing around with the crayon in between her fingers. "I got hit too," she mumbled out, barely above a whisper, but the blonde man still caught it. His mood took a nose dive, making it even worse than what he was feeling before he walked in. Someone had been hitting the poor kid. Someone had been hitting this poor little girl who was just a year younger than his own son. Immediately he felt an urge to protect the little thing and to make the person who hurt her pay.

"Sky!"

Gunnar immediately tensed and shifted his eyes to the right, spotting a large Italian looking man walking towards them. He noticed that the little girl jumped slightly and turned to look at the approaching man with a smile. The blonde didn't shift his position of leaning on the desk by the little girl, and instead watched as the Italian shot him appraising look before zeroing in on the small girl. "Sky, what are you doing at the desk?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Greeting a customer!" The little girl, Sky, replied with a large smile.

"What have we told you about sitting at the desk?" The man asked, walking over, shooting his arms out towards the girl. Gunnar clenched his fists and tensed his muscles, ready to lash out if the little kid was hit, before the man scooped her up into his arms to rest her against his hip. The look he was being shot told Gunnar that the man saw his reaction and knew exactly what he planned to do. "And talking to strangers."

Gunnar raised an eyebrow, not at all missing the fact that he was now being judged by the Italian. "But Barney, Tool said I can color at the desk!" Sky whined her little arms wrapped around his neck. She looked at Gunnar before she turned her attention back to Barney and tried to whisper, but failed miserably. "And he seems nice."

"No exceptions, kiddo."

The bell above the door chimed again, catching the attention of the three by the front desk. Gunnar noticed a man with a shaved head walking through the door, holding a Kid's Meal bag and soda from the Burger King four blocks away. Despite the bag with little crowns all over it, the man still looked intimidating, particularly in the way his eyes cut to Gunnar's without two seconds passing. It appeared as if he was sized up within a grand total of five seconds before the man's attention was on the little girl.

"Daddy!"

"Hey baby girl," he spoke up in a British accent, making his way past the desk—shooting a look towards Gunnar as he passed—before placing the bag and soda on the desk. He reached out and took the little girl from Barney's arms, lifting her into the air before kissing her cheek gently. He rested her against his hip like the Italian was holding her just seconds earlier and he grabbed the bag again with his free hand. "I made sure to get you some extra chicken nuggets and fries. And I think there's a toy in here for you."

Sky immediately beamed and said her thanks before kissing her father's cheek.

"Why don't you go on upstairs and eat while we talk to our new friend here, hm? And do me a big favor, go find Tool and tell him someone's here to see him." The man suggested tossing another look towards Gunnar that made it obvious he wanted his daughter as far away from the blonde as possible. She bobbed her head enthusiastically and he lowered her to the ground and passed her the soda before she shot off, running for the stairs. "Don't make a mess!"

"Uh-huh!"

As soon as the little girl was out of sight, the two men rounded on Gunnar. In response he stood up, straightening himself to his full height and squared his shoulders, looking down at the two men with a narrowed stare. "What happened to the kid's chin?" Gunnar asked, not at all beating around the bush. If these men were the cause of what happened to that little girl, there would be no way in hell he'd join up with them. He wouldn't be able to sit back and watch her get hit, especially when he had his own little boy who would no doubt be mixed in along with them.

Almost immediately the man with the shaved head sent him a deadly stare, his entire body tensing. "You've got no business asking me that, _friend," _he hissed out. Barney nudged the man who was glaring daggers at Gunnar. The man didn't even turn, but it seemed that he got the message without needing to turn around to see his expression. "Her mother's to blame," his said through clenched teeth. Gunnar could see the anger and guilt behind the man's eyes and he decided that he was telling the truth.

"You Gunnar Jensen?" Barney took over, seeing as his friend didn't appear to be in the talking mood. At Gunnar's nod, Barney walked forward and extended his hand. "Barney Ross," he said shaking the Swedish man's hand. Barney jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the man who appeared to be Sky's father. "That's Lee Christmas, Sky's dad. She wasn't in a good place before we got her and she still isn't over it. Don't bring it up in front of her."

"Got it," Gunnar nodded, though a pit formed in his chest thinking about what happened to the little girl. He'd be furious if Jake's mother had ever laid a hand on him, so he knew Lee Christmas was probably more than a little livid at what happened to his daughter. And having someone else bring it up and accuse him of hurting her was probably not helping his feelings on the subject. "I've got a brat of my own," Gunnar spoke up, more out of an attempt to show Lee that he meant no harm in his question. Lee looked to him in question, an eyebrow raised and his eyes still narrowed. "He's a year older than yours and a handful. I know I wouldn't want anything to happen to him, so I can imagine what you must feel like."

"You've got a son?" Lee asked, his posture relaxing slightly thought he still had his hardened expression. "What's his name?"

"Jacob, but I just call him Jake."

Lee frowned before turning to look at Barney. "That wasn't in the file."

Gunnar tensed, his eyes narrowing. "You checked up on me?"

"Can't be too careful," another voice cut in. The three men turned to see a man with a straight hair that touched his shoulders, with hits of white and grey mixing in with the black. Gunnar immediately guessed that this man was 'Tool' the person that Sky was sent off to get. "We've got a little one running around here, so we can't just have anyone walk in, you understand? Her safety comes first."

"I can understand that."

Tool grinned. "Perfect. Now, why don't you come back to our office? We've got a lot to discuss."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_June 30__th, __1997_

"Aw c'mon dad! Where are we going? Tell me!"

Gunnar tried his very best not to let his exasperation show on his face as he continued packing up the contents of their small apartment. The meeting with Tool, Barney and Lee the previous day had taken over two hours. They had questioned him regarding his previous military experience, his specialties, and anything else that could be beneficial. That part had been easy and quick. He rattled off answers without much thought and he was careful to keep certain things to himself while revealing others. The part that had taken the longest was discussing what sort of payment he'd be getting. It had been the most important part of the entire meeting for him. He wanted to make sure he could support Jake and he'd made that thought known. So when Tool suggested he live at the shop like Barney and Lee—rent free—Gunnar jumped at the chance.

"Why are we moving? Did we find another place? Did the meeting go well? Is it in the same state? Are we going out of the country? We're not going to Mexico, right?" Jake Jensen prattled on at a mile a minute, talking about something his friend Craig from first grade told him about Mexico and the water. He seemed like he didn't even take a chance to breathe as he continued spewing words from his mouth. It was a certain quirk that both amused Gunnar and exasperated him.

"Kid, take a breath," Gunnar cut in, succeeding in getting Jake to stop talking. "We're heading to stay with my new team."

"New team?" Jake asked, his bright blue eyes sparkling. "So the meeting went well?"

"Yeah, now help me pack up the rest of this crap. Most of its going into storage until we got a more permanent situation, so make sure you grab what you want," the tall blonde suggested. Within seconds his son had shot off like a rocket, heading towards his small room to find all the things he couldn't bear to part with. Gunnar smiled slightly and shook his head, knowing he'd have about twenty minutes of silence so he could pack up the rest of their living room/dining room/kitchen area.

In reality he only had ten minutes before his son ran down the short hallway towards him, a large backpack on his back along with a handful of toys. Gunnar, thankfully, had already finished packing by that time and was able to turn his attention entirely to his son. "Jake, can you even see over the top of that pile?"

"Nope! But all this is necessary!"

Gunnar was going to ask why a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stuffed doll was 'necessary' but he knew his son would fire back with some sort of odd logic. And he loved for his son to be happy, so he just let it be. "Alright, if you're all packed, we'll head out now. I already called a moving truck to get this to the storage unit," Gunnar said before reaching down to grab a black backpack, lifting it up from by the door to pull it over his shoulders. He grabbed his much larger black duffel bag—which was full of all the weapons he'd acquired over the years—and slung it over his shoulder. "Hand," he said in a commanding tone.

It took a few seconds of shuffling before he felt his son's small hand slip into his much larger one. He looked down to see that Jake was carrying about seven toys clutched tightly in one arm. He chuckled a bit before the two set off. The entire walk from their apartment building to Tool's tattoo shop had been made with Jake chattering the entire time while Gunnar just nodded and grunted occasionally. Only when they arrived at the seedy part of town did Jake's chattering start to slow as he looked around. "Uh… is this where the place is?"

"Yup."

"This doesn't look like a safe neighborhood."

"It's not," Gunnar replied easily. "It's a good thing that I can take care of you though, isn't it?"

"That's true!" Jake perked up immediately.

"Besides, if a six year old girl can hang around a tattoo shop, so can you."

Jake opened his mouth to respond before he blinked and looked up at his father in confusion. "What little girl?"

"One of the guys has a kid around a year younger than you. Cute kid, you'll like her."

"But dad! Girls have cooties!" Jake whined in absolute horror.

Gunnar rolled his eyes but said nothing. His son was still in the 'girls have cooties' phase, and no amount of convincing would change his opinions. So he let his son rant and rave even as they walked through the door of Tool's Tattoo Shop. Lee was seated at the desk, flipping through a book with Sky seated in his lap, smiling and pointing enthusiastically to something on the pages while Barney was in the back talking with Tool as the older man worked on a half-done tattoo on the Italian's back. At the sound of the bell, Lee's eyes snapped up and Sky looked up with wide eyes. Simultaneously both let a smile form on their face, though Sky's was noticeably brighter. "Hi again!" Sky waved enthusiastically.

"Hey there, Sky," Gunnar greeted.

Lee stood up from the desk, picking his daughter up to let her stand on her own. She immediately ran over to Gunnar and Jake while her father walked lazily behind her, looking to the giant Swedish man before looking to the small boy, clutching toys in one hand and his father's hand in the other. "So who's this?" He asked, smiling in Jake's direction.

"This is my son, Jake," Gunnar introduced. "Jake, say hi."

"Hi! I'm Jake! Well, my dad just said that. This is place is really cool! Do you have tattoo's Mr.? My dad has tattoos. Dad, can I get a tattoo like you? You have cool tattoos!"

"Not until you're older."

Sky blinked at the energetic older boy in front of her before she frowned and turned to look at her father. "Daddy, can I get a tattoo too?"

"Not ever," Lee replied without hesitation.

"But why?" Sky whined, whirling around to face her father completely, lining up with Jake without realizing it. "Jake's daddy said he can get a tattoo when he's older, why can't I?"

Lee sighed in exasperation before looking up at Gunnar. "Your child is corrupting mine."

Gunnar smirked.

"Why would you want a tattoo?" Jake asked turning to look at Sky with a confused expression on his face. "Girl's don't get tattoos."

"Says who?" Sky asked with a pout on her face. She crossed her little arms over her chest turned to face the slightly taller boy. "Girls can get tattoos if they want."

"But—" Jake cut himself off realizing he didn't really have a valid argument to come back with. So instead he just smiled and held up his toys a bit more, changing the topic entirely. "Do you wanna play?"

Immediately the frown on Sky's face was replaced with a smile and she nodded enthusiastically. She quickly told him that they could play upstairs in her room and she shot off with Jake trailing off behind him. The blue-eyed boy stopped to look at Tool and Barney, watching the process of a tattoo being created before Sky doubled back to grab his hand and pull him up the stairs towards her room.

"They're adorable," Tool laughed.

Barney looked to Lee and Gunnar—both fathers looking confused at what just happened—before he laughed and shook his head. "You two are gonna have a handful."

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_May 15__th, __1998_

Thunder rumbled loudly, making the entire room shake with the force before another flash of lightening lit up the entire room. Jake jumped again and buried himself deeper underneath the blankets of the bed and covered his ears with his hands, hoping to drown out the loud noise. He wished his dad was there. He always made him feel better during thunderstorms. But his dad was out on a mission with Barney and Lee. The entire room felt empty and scary without him there. He would've gone to see Tool, to see if he could sleep in his room, but Tool had a lady-friend over and his dad said he and Sky weren't allowed in Tool's room whenever he had a lady-friend over. Plus, he was already eight-years old. He shouldn't have been scared. He was going to be in the third grade soon! He had to be brave! And Sky wasn't scared of anything, so he couldn't show that he was scared.

Another crash of thunder pulled him out of his thoughts and forced him to jump. He curled tighter into a ball and squeezed his eyes shut before he heard a creaking sound. His eyes snapped open and his breathing picked up. Someone was in his room. Was it a monster? Was it the bad guys his dad fought? What was he going to do? He couldn't fight like his dad! He wasn't that brave! What did he do? What did he—

"J-Jake?"

Jake blinked before pulling the sheets down at the sound of the very familiar voice he'd gotten accustom to over the year he'd been with the Expendables. "Sky?" He pulled the blanket down to look towards the door and saw Sky standing there, one hand on the knob and the other rubbing at her eyes. A flash of lightening lit up the room, and Jake saw that Sky was rubbing tears from her eyes and she was shaking. She was crying. "Sky, why are you crying?" Jake asked, sitting up in bed, looking towards the normally composed girl.

"I-I had a bad d-dream," she hiccupped, sounding as if she would start crying again. "C-Could I sleep in here? P-Please? Daddy's not h-here and I'm scared."

Jake blinked again in surprise. Sky was scared? Sky never seemed scared of anything. Immediately the little boy nodded and Sky quickly ran into the room and crawled up into the bed just before another crash of thunder could be heard. He jumped at the noise and Sky looked up at him in confusion, her eyes brimming with tears. "A-Are you scared too?" She asked.

He nodded once before he wiggled his way back down and turned so he was facing her. "Yeah, I'm scared," he whispered. "I don't like thunder storms. What was your dream about?"

"The needle men," she said as more tears rolled down her eyes.

"Don't worry about the needle men," Jake replied, not really knowing what the needle men were. "When you're dad's gone, I'll protect you from them," he announced boldly. Why he'd said it, he had no idea. He wasn't a fighter. He wasn't a soldier. He wasn't a hero. But something about the way Sky looked all sad… he just had to say something.

Sky blinked and rubbed her eyes before looking up at him. "Y-You mean, l-like a big b-brother?" She asked, barely able to get the words out of her mouth.

Jake pursed his lips together in thought. Sky did remind her of a younger sister. She was shorter than him and tinier than him and she liked to follow him around a lot now that he thought about it. And he always told his dad he wanted a younger sibling. He smiled and puffed out his chest slightly. "Yup! From this moment on, I'm your older brother!"

"B-But we've got different parents?"

"So? That doesn't mean anything! I'm your older brother now! And I'll always be there to protect you!"

Sky blinked and held out her hand, pinky extended. "Promise?"

Jake wrapped his pinky around hers and nodded. "Promise."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_October 5__th, __2001_

This had to be the wrong place. It just had to be.

Yin Yang took a look at the address written on the sheet of paper in his hands before backing out of the tattoo shop to see that it indeed was the right address. He frowned in confusion before entering the shop again. He'd heard that this was a tattoo shop with mercenary ties. He heard that they were the people to talk to about dangerous jobs that paid good money. But what he hadn't heard was the fact that two children, a boy with golden hair and bright blue eyes and a girl with curly dark brown hair and brown eyes, also resided in this tattoo shop with mercenary ties. They looked around ten. The two kids were sitting on the floor in front of the couch on the right side of the room, looking at a sheet of paper while a giant blonde man sat behind them on the couch, peeking over their shoulders.

"I don't get it," the little girl huffed in annoyance.

The boy pointed to something on the paper. "Right here you forgot to carry the one and…"

The little girl stopped paying attention as the older boy started explaining where she went wrong in her problem. The giant behind her, interjected at one point, trying to clarify something even further, when her eyes hit Yin's and she straightened suddenly, a smile forming on her face. "Hi, are you here for a tattoo?"

Within seconds the boy and the giant were looking his way.

Yin looked around the rest of the tattoo shop—seeing no one else around—before resigning himself to the fact that the two kids and the giant were the only ones there at the moment. "I'm looking for a man named Tool," he said as clearly as he could with his accent.

"Tool's gone right now," the boy piped up with a smile. "Can we take a message?"

"Jake, keep helping Sky with her math," the giant said, his eyes never once leaving Yin's as he stood up and walked towards him. "You're Yin Yang, right?" Yin merely nodded. The man extended his hand and grinned. "I'm Gunnar Jensen. So you're supposed to be our new martial artist, huh?"

"Martial arts?" The little girl, Sky, asked with her attention now on Yin once again. Jake, too, was now staring in his direction, a wide smile on his face.

"Are you really a martial artist? What kind of martial arts do you do? Can you do those sweet kicking moves? We really wanted to learn how to do martial arts, but our dads said that we had to wait until we were older because we won't have discipline, but me and Sky are _way_ disciplined and—"

_"__Jake."_

Jake immediately snapped his mouth shut.

Gunnar rolled his eyes before jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the two kids. "That's Jake and Sky. He's my kid and she's Lee's. You'll meet him when he, Barney, and Tool come back."

Yin nodded again and studied the two kids. They looked smart, seemed nice, and they were also studying him back, which earned the kids respect as well as curiosity. "So are you going to be on the team?" Sky asked, tilting her head to the side. He nodded and she smiled, batting her eyelashes at him. "So can you teach us martial arts?"

Yin smiled. The girl was sneaky.

"Sky, your dad said—"

"I can teach you," Yin interrupted Gunnar.

Jake fist-pumped. Sky high-fived Jake. Gunnar sighed.

"What the hell, just make sure it's okay with your dad first, Sky."

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_March 16__th, __2004_

The door slamming open caused Toll Road to jump, his hands reflexively going to the area his gun would be, had he not left it. He craned his neck around to see over his shoulder, as did the two men he was talking to, Barney Ross and Lee Christmas. To say he was surprised when two teenage kids walked through the front door of the tattoo shop was an understatement. Both kids, a blonde, blue-eyed boy and a dark brunette girl with brown eyes, had backpacks and scowls on their faces. The boy let the girl in first before he shut the door behind the two of them. Their clothes were dirty and it looked like they'd just been in a fight.

"Hi, bye," the boy said loudly, heading for the lift with the girl quickly walking at his heels.

"Hold up," Lee shouted, causing the two to freeze in their tracks and turn around. Now that the kids were in Toll's line of sight so he didn't have to turn, he could see that there's a little bit of dried blood on the boy's lips and a nice shiner, and the girl had blood on her knuckles. Apparently Lee caught it too, because he was up and out of his seat, walking towards them. Barney, however, grumbled something he couldn't catch and walked to the back room calling for a 'Gunnar'. "What the hell happened?" Lee demanded, looking both kids over. When neither of them answered, Lee turned on the girl. "Sky, what happened?"

Sky shrugged. "Jake and I got into a bit of a scuffle."

"Which we won," Jake said with a hint of a smile, before he was scowling again. "But our bitch of a principal gave us detention for the next few weeks, because we beat up members of the football team. Can you believe that? They start hitting on Sky and one gets the audacity to shove her, and then it's _our_ fault when he kicked their asses, like they deserve! They're just _lucky_ the football coach came by and stopped the fight or we would've torn them a new—"

"Jake!"

Jake immediately snapped his mouth shut and tried to hide behind Sky. It was a futile attempt seeing that he was taller than the girl. Within seconds a blonde giant, who Toll could only guess was Gunnar, since Barney was trailing behind with Yin Yang whom he'd met earlier. "What happened?" He said in a tone similar to the one that Lee used. It didn't take long for the MMA enthusiast to realize that this man was Jake's father.

Jake started talking at a mile a minute, explaining what he'd just said to Lee while Yin Yang walked over to the two kids, silently studying the injuries they both had. "…and I had tried to use some of that really awesome ninja moves that Yin Yang taught me, but I just couldn't do 'em right so I just did what I could and I got punched in the eye and the mouth. But we still totally won, and Sky didn't get hit at all."

"You didn't get hit?" Lee asked, looking to his daughter in what appeared to be a mixture of relief and pride. She shook her head.

"Who's blood?" Yin asked, lifting one of her hands to show the bloody knuckles.

Sky smirked slightly. "Not mine."

Lee's relief was replaced with nothing but pride as he leaned in and kissed his daughter on the top of her head. "That's my girl."

"You're going to need ice for that eye," Gunnar said critically, his fingers running over the injury, causing Jake to wince.

The young blonde pouted. "It's just not fair! I can never get down the martial arts that Yin teaches us as well as Sky does, and I got my ass kicked because of it. I'm just not built for that!"

"Try MMA."

All the eyes in the room turned to Toll and it takes him a second before he realized that they're looking at him because he'd spoken up and given the suggestion. He cleared his throat and shifted slightly in his seat. "If you can't get strictly martial arts, try MMA. It's a lot of different grappling and submission moves. It might be easier for you to pick up."

"Hm… I've always wanted to try, MMA," Jake muttered, his eyes brightening. "Hey, do you know MMA? You totally look like you can kick someone's ass! Can you teach me? Wait… who are you again exactly? Are you here as the new member? Dad is he the new member?"

"Kid, if you took a break to just let him answer, he'd tell you," Gunnar pointed out.

Immediately Jake turned to look back to Toll, his eyes wide while Sky just looked at him with her head tilted to the side slightly. Toll nodded his head and smiled in their direction. "My name's Toll Road. It's nice to meet you kids."

"So he _is_ the new recruit! Aw man that's awesome! So can you teach me MMA? Well, if you _know_ MMA, because I totally don't know much about you except from what I read in your file, and that was _before_ my dad took it away from me. Apparently I wasn't supposed to see it or something like that so it was some _huge _deal that…"

It was at that moment, looking at the blathering blonde boy and the amused looking brunette girl, that Toll decided he was going to like being a part of the Expendables.

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_May 9__th, __2006_

No one understood how hard it was to adjust to civilian life after the military. It always seemed like it was easy on all the damned commercials that are shown on every station on TV. It was nothing like that. Ever since getting back from the Army, Hale Caesar had been having a hard time trying to find a job. He'd gone straight into the military out of high school and he hadn't had much job experience before that. And it wasn't like his heavy weapons specialty translated into an actual job in civilian life.

He walked down the crowded streets of New Orleans, coming from another failed job interview. If he didn't get a job soon, he didn't know what he was going to do. His military checks weren't cutting it for rent and he'd pretty much emptied out all of his savings accounts. He didn't have anything left.

"Oof!"

Caesar stumbled back a bit as someone plowed into his shoulder, bouncing off of him before landing on the concrete in front of him. He looked down in annoyance ready to tear whoever it was a new one, before he saw that it was just a kid. He looked around fifteen or sixteen and he had spiky blonde hair, bright blue eyes hidden behind glasses and a backpack strapped across his chest. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He was whining and rubbing at his butt. "Ow, man, that hurt! I'm really sorry about—" The boy looked up and his eyes widened in surprise. "Shiiiit, you are _huge!_" Before Caesar could say anything, the boy scrunched his face up and frowned. "Well, that sounded really awkward."

The large man shook his head at the teen, his annoyance being replaced with amusement as he chuckled and reached a hand down to the small teen. "Sorry about that kid, you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm good," the kid replied, allowing himself to be hauled up to his feet before he poked Caesar's arm. "Man, you are _ripped_! How do you get that big? I've been trying but I haven't been able to! My trainer Toll says it's because I'm not doing enough weight training, though so that's probably it."

"Weight lifting will get you the size," Caesar shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest, internally wondering how he'd gotten into a conversation regarding bulking up with a scrawny high-school kid he just ran into on the street. "But the Army keeps you in shape too."

"You're military?" The boy asked suddenly very interested.

"Jake!"

Caesar looked over the kid's shoulder and saw a girl around the boy's age running up to him. She had her curly dark brown hair up in a ponytail and she was wearing a pair of black jeans and bright blue tank top, adjusting her own black glasses on her nose and her backpack. The girl had brown eyes that she was using to glare at the boy. "Where were you? I waited outside of the school for you to get out of detention."

"I thought you went home already!" The boy, Jake, defended, pouting at the girl. "I was given false information!"

She rolled her eyes before looking towards Caesar with a forced smile. "Hey, I'm sorry if my brother's been bothering you in anyway."

"Sky! I'm not annoying him! We're having an awesome conversation!" Jake pouted, nudging his sister's shoulder childishly.

Caesar raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking back and forth between the two kids in front of him. For the life of him, he couldn't see the family resemblance. They were both around the same height and they were both wearing glasses, but that was as far as he got with the resemblances. Jake was blonde with blue eyes and Sky was a dark brunette with brown eyes. Jake's hair was straight while Sky's was curly. "Uh… you two are brother and sister?" He asked, unable to push the question away.

"Adopted," Jake shrugged before turning to look at his sister with a grin. "We've been together since we were kids."

"Well that definitely makes more sense."

"So, what did you do in the Army?"

"You're military?" Sky asked curiously, looking to Caesar as if she were analyzing him.

The big man just nodded. "Yeah, I was a heavy weapons specialist."

"That's badass," Jake grinned excitedly. "So what do you do now that you're out?"

Caesar sighed in exasperation at being reminded of his current lack of employment. "Right now, I'm still looking for a job, but it's not as easy as everyone made it out to be."

"You're looking for a job?" Sky asked, sharing a quick look with her brother. Jake seemed to jump and down in his spot while she pursed her lips, the two seeming to have a conversation without words. After a few seconds, Sky turned to look back at him and smiled. "You ever think about mercenary work?"

Caesar blinked and looked back and forth between the two kids. "You two aren't normal kids, are you?"

Jake grinned proudly. "Nope."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_July 21__st, __2008_

It took a few seconds for Sky to realize what the papers were that she held in her hands, but the second she did, she snapped her gaze up to look at Jake before she scoured the paper again, skimming through every bit to make sure she was positive as to what she was reading. She should've known something was up the second Jake walked into her room. Ever since she and Jake started getting older, they had gotten their own rooms instead of sharing with their fathers and Tool had invested in locks for the doors, forming mini apartments for all the Expendables with keys to go with it. They each had keys to each other's rooms, but they didn't use it often unless it was a serious matter. And for Jake to barge into her room while the others were out at the bar she should've known he had something he was hiding.

"What do you think?" Jake asked from his spot at the foot of her bed, messing around with the edge of his almost obnoxiously orange t-shirt, waiting for some sort of reaction.

Sky exhaled and leaned back against her headboard, looking at the papers for a few seconds before she looked up to her adopted brother. "I think I'm looking at Army enlistment papers."

"You think correctly," he grinned slightly, before she shot him a look. He pressed his lips together awkwardly and sighed before scooting closer so he was seated by her feet. "Sky, seriously, what do you think about all this?"

"Does it really matter what I think?"

"Of course it does, you're my sister. I highly value your opinion."

"Didn't your dad say you _couldn't _join the military?"

"I'm very selective with my opinion valuing."

"Jake."

"Sky," he pouted at her, his blue eyes widening. She glared at him, but he didn't let up with the expression. He knew she could never resist the pout. That was how he always swayed her to his side. Just one pout was all it took.

Sky ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes, mentally counting to ten before she looked back at her brother. "Why do you want to join the Army?"

"I want to serve my country."

"No, I got that," she said, shaking her head. "I mean why the _Army_. You're a certified genius. You could go with Navy or Air Force if you really wanted to."

Jake shrugged. He knew he was intelligent. He got his brains from his father, after all. And when he'd graduated high school just two months ago he was given offers from every Ivy League college in the country. But he couldn't imagine himself in a desk job. He couldn't imagine himself sitting in an office or a cubicle, answering phone calls and going to meetings or anything like that. They grew up around a group of mercenaries. He learned how to shoot a gun before he was ten and he knew how to take apart, clean, and put together automatic weapons by the time he and Sky hit middle school. He learned MMA from Toll while Sky was learning from Yin, and they were arguably two of the most dangerous teenagers around. And with his expertise with anything and everything technological he was both skilled with his body and mind. And he knew that if he joined the Navy or Air Force, he'd just be sitting around. It would be a waste for him to just stay safe in some office building. "I feel like I could do more in the Army."

Sky flipped through the paperwork, seeing that Jake had already signed it and pinched the bridge of her nose before nodding. "Alright, alright, I get it. You're set on this and I'm not going to stand in your way. If this is what you want, I'll support you. So who's your recruiter? I can go talk to him tomorrow morning and enlist too."

"So you totally approve? That's—" Jake cut himself off as he processed the rest of her statement. "Whoa, wait, what? You're not enlisting."

"Why not?" Sky asked, tossing the paperwork by his hand so she could sit up, crossing her legs underneath her.

"It's too dangerous for—"

"Well thank you, Mr. Double Standard."

Jake frowned at her before continuing. "Sky, I'm not trying to pull you into this with me."

"I know you're not," she answered with a frown. "But we've done everything together. I'm not going to let you do this on your own."

"Yes you are," he replied, causing her frown to deepen. She was getting ready to gear up for an argument but he started talking before she got the chance. "Sky, you're only seventeen, you would need one of the guys to sign the forms and I know they won't do it. And I know we've done everything together, but I've got to do this on my own. Besides, you don't have to worry about me. I'm strong," he smiled flexing one of his arms to show the muscles he'd developed during his last two years in high school. He'd been hitting the gym with Toll and Caesar so he had obtained a physique that many of the boys were envious of and many of the girls liked to admire. "Go on, feel these guns!"

Sky stared at him for a second before she laughed and reached forward to squeeze at his defined bicep while he made all sorts of faces. When she let her arm drop back to the bed he grinned at her, though he seemed to become more serious. "I'm strong Sky. I can handle myself. We were raised by the best and taught by the best. I need you to trust me on this, okay? I'll be fine."

"I know… I just…" She trailed off and reached forward again, this time to grab onto Jake's hand. Without hesitation he squeezed her hand, prompting her to continue. "Just take care of yourself okay? I… I can't lose you."

"You won't, I promise," he said, wrapping his pinky around hers, just as he had done years ago when he first adopted her as his younger sister. "You won't lose me. I told you I'll always be here to protect you, and I don't intend on breaking that promise any time soon." Sky nodded once, a sad smile on her face as she reached forward to hug him. "You just have to promise you'll write to me, and call, and Skype."

"I promise," she muttered into his chest as he stroked her long dark hair.

"So… I'm really going to do this, aren't I?"

"I guess you are."

"Aw man, there's _so_ much to do!" Jake exclaimed loudly, prompting Sky to lean back out of the embrace and rub her ears. She tossed him a look, but he largely ignored it as he started planning. "I need to get you better Wi-Fi on your computer so that you have no problems with Skype, I've got to pack, and I've got to turn these papers in. Then I'll have to get processed and have basic training, which is probably going to suck. And I'll have to pick my MOS which I totally can because I got super high marks. And I'll try and figure out how I can get some college in so I can rank up faster and I'll have to—"

"Tell Gunnar."

"—yeah, I'll have to—" Jake cut himself off and paled slightly. "Aw man, I'm going to have to tell my _dad!_ He's going to kill me!"

"What time does your recruiter's office close?"

Jake frowned and looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was six. "Uh, it closes at seven, why?"

"C'mon, let's go drop off those papers and get your date for processing," Sky said, getting up from the bed to adjust her sweatpants and her t-shirt. "That way Gunnar can't shred your paperwork before you can turn it in."

"Good idea," he got up, walking after his sister even as she grabbed the keys. Just before they made it out of her apartment, Jake caught her arm. "Sky… thanks a lot for this and for supporting me."

Sky smiled. "That's what family's for."

* * *

_Forward Operating Base Sykes, Iraq_

_January 12__th, __2010_

The second he'd gotten his mail—and the second he was dismissed and done with all his other duties—Jake had practically sprinted back to the barracks and threw himself on the bed. He was internally thankful that the rest of his company were off at some sort of base party, because he must've looked really childish, tearing open the stack of envelopes like he was some kid on Christmas.

Joining the Army had mostly gone as he had expected. Having the military pay for his college was nice and relatively easy since he got his dad's brains. He finished up with a four year degree in just over two years, much to the pride of his family back home, so that had actually gone better than he planned. Basic Training was dreadful. For most of the other raw recruits it wasn't hard to fall in line. They were battered and broken down into blank slates and built back up into proper soldiers. But Jake was too damn smart and loose with his tongue for his own good. And growing up in a home of mercenaries hadn't helped his slight 'attitude' problem either. He had run more laps, done more push-ups, and gotten his ass chewed out more times than he could count, but he still hadn't been broken down. The cocky grin he wore going into BT was the same grin he wore going out as he got his assignments for AIT; technical support and communications.

AIT had been marginally better. He'd grasped all the concepts he was being taught with ease since it wasn't much more difficult than his hacking hobby and within the first two weeks he had known everything that he needed to about his MOS. But that still left months left of his training for him to just sit and stew with him having nothing to do until they got their first assignments. His instructors noticedt he wasn't paying attention during lectures. And that led to more laps, push-ups and verbal lashings. After a while they realized that he wasn't purposely ignoring them, he was just too smart. So eventually they just left him alone.

Jake had graduated from AIT four months ago and now he was on his first assignment, stationed in Iraq. It was only when he was shipped overseas that he'd finally started to see the reality of what a soldier does. He had already seen the fighting, the bloodshed and the loss of life. He had held his weapon and shot at enemy insurgents. He knew what it was like to lose friends. He knew what it was like to see people die, to see the light go out of their eyes. He knew what it was like to wake up in the morning praying you'd make it through the day and go to sleep that night with faces of the dead clouding your mind. His dad had always told him about the grim side of military service. He just never knew what he meant until then. He never knew how bad it could be until he was thrown into that scenario.

But still, he didn't regret his choice. He didn't regret enlisting. He was a solider. He didn't take any personal pleasure out of killing, out of taking lives, but the reality of the world was that it was kill or be killed. In order to survive you had to fight. And he knew that while he served his country he was making the world safer for all the citizens of the United States of America; he was making it safer for his family. He was keeping his promise to Sky, to always protect her, making the world safer for her. And those thoughts were the only things keeping him going.

He tore into the letters he'd received, skimming them briefly to see who they were from before he read their contents. All of the Expendables had sent him a letter. They all asked him how he was doing, told him to keep safe, but each of the letters had something unique to each person that made it both amusing and sad at the same time. Caesar had asked if he was keeping up with his workout routine to keep 'a ripped body' like his—complete with a picture of Caesar without a shirt wearing a Santa hat, flexing and making some sort of screaming face into the camera. Toll had sent him a package with a few books in it, a couple of them about the latest technology advancements and the others were just novels that Jake had written about in some of his earlier letters.

Yin's letter was fairly short—as to be expected, since he was a man of few words anyway—but he had expressed great concern for his wellbeing, which he appreciated. Tool had sent him quite a few magazines of the X-rated variety which he didn't know whether he should be grateful or slightly disturbed. Barney and Lee had kept him up to date on some of the missions they'd had and what they were all doing, while sending him some candy—which he was sure was Barney's doing, since Lee often had to babysit both him and Sky when they were kids and he knew the man wouldn't willingly give him candy. He knew how he and sugar mixed. Inside Sky's package, there was a letter telling him everything that had been going on in her life and that she was going to be joining up with the Expendables as a mercenary when she turned twenty. He wasn't very happy with that, now that he knew what war was like, so he made a mental note to write her back, swaying her away from that path though he doubted it would do any good. But the cookies that she'd packed for him had made him feel slightly better.

When he came to his dad's letter, it took all he had in him not to cry.

_Dear Jake,_

_I tried to get this out to you in time for Christmas, but I'm not sure if it'll make it to you in time. I know how crap the mail system is, especially overseas. It's weird not having you here. I don't like it. I remember when you were so tiny I could hold your entire body in one hand. You were so small and defenseless and now you're off fighting for our country. It sucks because I'm so damn proud and so heartbroken at the same time. You're my life, kid, and I hate coming home to an empty apartment. I hate that you're not here so we can talk, or watch movies, or practice fighting or shooting, or just sit together. It's so hard when you're not here. I love you so damn much and with you gone I don't know what to do with myself. _

_Damn, I'm whining, aren't I? Well, you don't have to worry about me too much. Baby-Face is keeping me together. She'll come over and make me food and watch movies with me and talk. She's a good kid, that one. Sometimes I forget she's not your sister by blood, because that girl is so damn loyal. Lee raised her right. She even helped me with the pictures I sent. She found 'em and made copies and took care of everything. I hope you like 'em. And I hope you come home soon. Write back as soon as you can. I love you son._

_-Dad_

Jake sucked in a deep breath and cleared his throat as he fought back tears before he went for the small package his dad had sent him, opening the box up. He immediately smiled seeing the array of chocolate bars, Teddy Grahams, and juice boxes that he loved as a kid. Underneath all the sugary items there were several pictures. He grabbed at them all and started thumbing through them. The first one he found was of him and his dad when he was just a baby wrapped up in a little blue blanket. He smiled flipped to the next one seeing a picture of himself as a seven year old in a tug-of-war match with a six year old Sky over a bag of Twizzlers while Tool was laughing in the background and Barney looked to be shaking his head. The next picture was of him and Sky learning martial arts from Yin, the man dressed in training clothes while he demonstrated a sort of punch that Sky was paying close attention to while he picked his nose.

The pictures were all from his childhood, reminding him of memories of better days when he still had the innocence of childhood. The last few were of him and each member of the Expendables team right before he shipped off for BT. Tool giving him his first tattoo—the bull head on his left shoulder—was the first picture he saw before he started thumbing through the others. He was flexing with Caesar in one, caught in a choke hold by Toll in another, measuring his height against Yin in the next—and being kicked to the ground by Yin before the Asian measure himself with Jake still on the floor in the next two. Lee was holding up a knife threateningly, while Jake pointed to it with a comically horrified expression on his face. Barney held up his beer bottle while Jake held up his Dr. Pepper can and they clinked glasses. And the last two pictures were of him and Sky and him and his dad.

The one with Sky was a picture he loved. He was wearing one of his brightly colored shirts and jeans and his glasses while Sky had on a pair of jean shorts and sneakers with a black t-shirt wearing her own glasses with her hair down. He was hunched over slightly as Sky was on his back, his arms hooked under her legs while hers were wrapped around his neck. One of her legs was extended slightly, as if she had tried to kick at the camera while she had her face next to his, both of them with large smiles on their faces. He immediately pulled that picture out of the stack. That was one he would be keeping with him at all times.

And the picture of him and his dad was a simple one. His dad stood next to him, his arm wrapped around his shoulder while Jake wrapped his arm around his dad's waist, both of them with big bright smiles. There was no funny pose, no odd antic. It was just him and his father. And even through the picture he could see just how proud his father looked standing beside him while he was beaming from beside him. It made his heart clench slightly knowing he couldn't see his dad yet. He too, set that one aside. Just as he was finishing up saving all his goodies in his personal affects—and placing the two pictures he saved in his gear—his CO walked in.

Without hesitation he leaped off his bed and snapped to attention. "Captain Jensen, you've just been reassigned."

Jake blinked in confusion. "Reassigned, sir?"

"You ship out tomorrow morning back to the States for Special Ops training."

"Special Ops training? But sir, why am I being reassigned? I'm in integral part of the intel gathering—"

"Your job isn't to question your orders, soldier! You ship out at 0500."

"Sir yes, sir!"

* * *

_Fort Remington, North Carolina_

_May 2__nd__, 2010_

After all the time he'd spent completing his Special Operations training he still had absolutely no idea why he'd been reassigned. Not that he was complaining or anything. Special Ops may not have been a walk in the park, but at least he wasn't overseas in Iraq in the middle of a war. And his family had been absolutely thrilled also. No one was more excited than his dad when he found out that he was back in the states for more training. Still, though, he was curious as to why someone would just switch him to Special Operations.

But he didn't have much time to think about it. Today was the day that Jake would be receiving his orders for his new unit. He adjusted his pack on his shoulders and felt his stomach growl, but pushed the thought out of his mind. He'd have time to eat after he got his orders. He walked into the administration building, ready to ask about his assignment before he was cut off by one of the drill sergeants he'd had in BT. He took one look at Jake and pointed out the door. "Captain Jensen, you're assigned to Lt. Colonel Franklin Clay's unit. He's waiting for you in the parking lot."

"Thank you sir," Jake managed to say after a few seconds of hesitation. He turned around and walked back out the building, heading to the parking lot in confusion and slight annoyance. He was starting to get tired of being bounced around. He just wanted to meet his unit, eat, take a shower, and sleep. There was a large black SUV in the parking lot with three men standing around and one sitting in the driver's side. They were all dressed in casual clothes, which surprised Jake. The man in the driver seat was a bald African American wearing a plain blue t-shirt from what he could see. One of the one's outside, leaning against the back door of the vehicle, was wearing plain jeans, combat boots a grey wife beater and vest with a cowboy hat on his head. He had shoulder length dark hair and looked Hispanic. The tallest one of the group was African American with a scar going down his right eye. He was wearing a long-sleeved brown shirt and jeans and looked like he was ready to kill the first person who looked at him wrong. And the last man wore a black suit and white shirt without a tie with short tousled brown hair.

Jake continued to walk over to them, skeptically before the man in the suit turned around and smiled in his direction. "Captain Jensen, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Lt. Colonel Franklin Clay."

The blue-eyed man immediately stopped walking and snapped into a salute. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

"At ease, soldier," Clay laughed. "This is Captain William Roque, Sergeant Linwood "Pooch" Porteous and Sergeant Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez. Welcome to the team."

"What team, exactly?" Jake asked in confusion.

Clay smiled. "The Losers."

"Uh… what?"


	6. Chapter 6

I'd like to take a second to thank all of you guys that favorite, follow and review this story! It means so much to me that you like this story since I've been working pretty hard on it! I appreciate the support and hope you guys like the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans_

_June 7__th, __2010_

_Okay, I refuse to call this a diary. I mean, I know Lacy mean's well and all, but I don't think any self-respecting daughter of a mercenary should write a 'diary'. Though, I can't blame her seeing as she has no idea what dad does. Still, I refuse to call it a diary; but I do appreciate her thinking of me on my nineteenth birthday. Though, I guess I'm doing all of this out of order. Lacy told me I'm supposed to write who I am in the first entry and some things about myself. And since the only other women I've talked to over the past fourteen years are Tool's girls of the week, I'm inclined to defer to her judgment. _

_Anyway, my name is Skylar Christmas, but most people just call me 'Sky' or 'Baby-Face'. I'm nineteen years old today and I decided to take time out of my birthday party to come and write this entry. It's really self-preservation in all honesty. Dad's trying to balance the craziness of the Expendables—Gunnar, for some reason, is positively jumping up and down waiting for something—with trying to make a call to Lacy. He's liable to crack at any moment. And since Yin is sitting with me at the back table while I'm writing this—because this man is one of the only sane people in this motley crew—it'll just be up to Barney to wrangle the situation in when dad finally loses it and starts throwing knives. Yin and I are more than content to watch the whole thing escalate. _

_But I haven't talked about them have I? Well, I guess that's a good way to start talking about myself; with my family. Okay, 'family' may be a bit of an odd word to use given my situation, but it fits. And Yin is nodding his approval as he's reading this, so I guess he agrees too. My family is really a group of mercenaries. They're all military men from various branches all over the world, so we've got a pretty good mixing pot. My father, Lee "Knives Out" Christmas, is a former British SAS soldier who's handy with a gun and deadly with a knife. And he's not bad at the hand-to-hand combat either. Speaking of hand-to-hand, that brings me to our resident martial arts expert and my current companion in sanity, Yin Yang. Now Yin Yang is about the best guy you can find. He's damn handy with just about any projectile weapon you give him, but he's even more impressive just using his hand-to-hand skills. He's currently my trainer in martial arts. And by the smile on his face right now, I'm sure he enjoyed his portion in this entry. _

_And for some reason Caesar has taken off his shirt and is dancing throughout the bar. I don't think I want to know. But, that now brings me to our heavy weapons specialist Hale Caesar. Former U.S. Army, Caesar is proficient with any weapon, but his weapons of choice are his big ass guns that sound more like a canon firing than any gun. His partner, Toll Road, is our demolitions expert and our MMA practitioner. He's taught me a couple moves—and now Yin is frowning because I didn't __**tell **__him that Toll showed me a couple moves—that are pretty cool, and he himself is pretty cool too. And then we have our own personal modern Viking, Gunnar Jensen. There's a lot I can say about Gunnar—hell I can fill up this entire journal—but I'll just keep it short and simple. The man is incredibly intimidating, incredibly smart, and incredibly deadly. But he is also a giant softie if you push the right buttons. And thankfully, I've always been on Gunnar's good side. After all, he's the one who gave me the nickname 'Baby-Face'._

_And when talking about Gunnar, there's no way I can forget about the son of the Viking, and the best damn hacker I know, Jake Jensen. He's my best friend, my partner in crime, and my amazing older brother. We're not related by blood, but then again, not a lot of us are. He's not here right now. He's a proud United States Army Captain, and has been working for the past month as a comms and tech specialist in a five men unit known as the Losers. I made a whole bunch of jokes at his expense for that name. But he is good at what he does and I am very proud of him. But I miss him like crazy. He's my older brother and it's hard not having him here during birthdays. He's probably one of the only ones I'm able to talk to and __**know **__he won't rat me out to my father. _

_Anyway, enough about Jake; he'd be thrilled to know I nearly went on a tangent about him. Now I should talk about Tool. Tool's been in my life since I came to live with dad, and he's an awesome grandfather figure. The only thing I know about Tool's history though is that he's known Barney a long time and he was in the mercenary game long before any of the other guys. He's retired now, of course, but he's a good recruitment liaison and if you ask nice he gives you a bunch of cool new toys to play with. And by toys I mean guns and knives. Lots of very pretty guns and knives. Plus, he's a pretty good tattoo artist and he lets us use the shop as our own personal playground whenever we're not at our apartments above the shop. He's offered me a tattoo a few times, but __**everyone **__sweeps me out of his general vicinity any time the offer is given. And last, but certainly not least, is my very own godfather, Barney "The Schizo" Ross. He's the leader of our little gang of misfits and he's a hell of a sharpshooter with a handgun. He's been in my life for as long as my dad has and he's the only who initially told my dad that they could take me in and create a life for me when my old life disintegrated. But that's something I'd rather not go into. _

_Well, that's my family of mercenaries. The call us 'The Expendables', but not a single one of us is expendable in the slightest. Each and every member of this little crew is my family. They raised me up when I was at my lowest. They gave me strength when I was weak. They have wormed their way into my heart and I know I've done the same to them. We're all family, and I love my family. And since Yin is making a face, I guess this has gotten as mushy as I'm going to let it get. I have no idea how to end this sort of thing. Lacy left before I could get a chance to ask her. Oh, and I forgot to talk about her. I guess I'll just talk about that next time. Anyway… bye, I guess. Quit laughing Yin!_

_-Sky Christmas_

"Ow! What was that for?" Yin asked with a small smile on his face, even as he rubbed his shoulder. He looked at the dark-haired girl in front of them and tried not to laugh at the fact that she was narrowing her dark brown eyes in his direction as she shut her black leather journal forcefully. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a grey t-shirt with purple and black sneakers on her feet. She looked completely out of place in the bar, but for the men who knew her, they knew that she belonged there just as much as they did.

"I told you to quit laughing, Yin!" Sky replied with an annoyed look on her face. She slumped back in her chair and kicked her foot up on the vacant chair just by her all while crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to look even more annoyed then she felt. In all honesty, it was mostly embarrassment that she felt instead of annoyance. "For my birthdays I normally get guns, assault rifles, or knives; and a teddy bear from Gunnar. You know I've never had a journal. How would _you_ have ended it?"

"I would've stopped writing," he said immediately, hiding his smile behind his beer bottle as he took a sip.

Sky glared at him.

"Baby-Face!"

The two looked up and saw the 'modern day Viking' Sky wrote about making his way to their table with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a red and white polka dotted teddy bear in the other. He set his glass down before reaching a hand to grab onto Sky's leg that was propped up on the chair. He lifted it up easily before sitting in the seat and replacing her foot back down onto his lap and placing the teddy bear in Sky's arms, earning a smile from the brunette. Gunnar smiled at the girl. "So, how do you like your party?"

Sky grinned in his direction before scanning the bar. Her 'party' wasn't really a typical party. She didn't invite any of her friends from high school, there were no over the top decorations, and there was no real formal feel to it. For one, they were celebrating in Joel's bar—their longtime friend—though the man did close early in order to insure they were the only ones there. There had been knife throwing contests between her, her father, and Tool instead of the typical 'pin the tail on the donkey'. Instead of the make-up kits or hair products for presents, she received a custom modified M-16, brass knuckles, and a pair of steel-tipped combat boots. The only 'normal' things she got happened to be the teddy from Gunnar, though she didn't really count it since he _always _got her weapons and a teddy—this year it just so happened to be a set of boot knives along with the bear—and the journal from Lacy. Currently Caesar had reclaimed his shirt and was talking about making a gourmet meal for himself and for her because, apparently, everyone else were haters. Toll had somehow taken that as an insult to his cauliflower ears and was knee-deep in his rant as to how it was a common wrestling injury. Tool was seated at the bar tossing back drinks and laughing at the two men while Barney and Lee argued in a corner about something that she couldn't make out. She looked back to Yin and Gunnar and her grin turned into a full-blown smile. "It's just what I expected. It was nice for Lacy to show up too."

"I think we scared her," Yin commented.

"Nah, I bet she loves us," Gunnar grinned.

Sky watched as Yin sighed and took a swig of his beer while Gunnar took a large gulp of his whiskey. She refrained from rolling her eyes. Despite the fact that they were partners and a devastating duo, Yin and Gunnar were almost always butting heads. They had very different backgrounds, beliefs, and personalities, so it wasn't surprising they didn't agree on many things. She just wished they got along better when they were off the clock just like they did when they were on missions. They always worked well together. She didn't like having to play peacekeeper all the time when they got into one of their disagreements, especially with Jake not there to help her out.

"Hey Baby-Face!" Sky snapped herself out of her thoughts to see Caesar half-in the doorway to the kitchen in the back, pointing towards the room. "You want something to eat?"

"Food would be great, Caesar, thanks!"

"Are we all getting food?" Toll asked his partner with a raised eyebrow.

"No, cause ya'll are haters."

With that Caesar disappeared into the kitchen while the other men grumbled at not being fed. Tool, who was behind the bar, took a shot before smiling at Sky. "You know Sky, if you want, I can finally give you a tattoo for your birthday." Before she could open her mouth to respond, all the other men chorused 'no'; even Caesar had shouted out from the kitchen.

"Do it and I'll cut your balls off," Lee threatened, pointing one of his throwing knives at their liaison.

Tool just laughed. "Get in line, Christmas. I've got angry ex's already trying to do that."

"That's an understatement," Barney quipped from his spot at the bar.

"Okay, can someone explain to me _why_ I can't decide for myself if I can get a tattoo or not?" Sky challenged, looking around at all the men in the room. "I'm nineteen years old. And all of you guys have tattoos. Even Jake has tattoos."

"You're beautiful. You don't need any tattoos. You're already perfect," Lee replied without hesitation, as he made his way over to his daughter and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Then how about a piercing?" She tried, looking up with a smile on her face.

"I'll consider it."

Knowing that was the best answer she was going to get, she smiled wider and let the matter drop for the moment. Her father pulled a chair out from the table behind her to place it just behind her own seat so he was seating right next to her. She smiled at him from over her shoulder before going back to hugging the red and white teddy bear that Gunnar had got her; which would no doubt join the ever growing pile of teddy's she kept in her room, all from the modern day Viking and his son.

"So, is there anything else you could've wanted for your birthday?" Barney asked curiously, looking in Sky's direction with a small smile on his face.

Just as he expected, Sky pursed her lips in thought before shaking her head. "No, not really, I can't think of anything else. This was more than enough."

"So you're totally happy with this party?" Toll asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure, thanks you guys."

"But there's one last present!" Gunner shouted enthusiastically, taking another large gulp of his whiskey.

"Big mouth," Yin muttered while Sky blinked in confusion, looking around at the men.

"There's another present?"

"Yup, and it's a very special one," Tool said with a smirk.

Sky shot him a look. "Alright, spill it guys, what is it?"

"Is it time yet?" Caesar asked, walking back into the room from the kitchen with two large plates in his hands. One was filled to the brim with chili cheese fries and the other had French fries that looked like they were supposed to be in some fancy restaurant with seasonings on top. He made his way over to Sky and placed the chili cheese fries on the table in front of her before he sat across from her at her table, next to Yin.

"Time for what?" She asked, starting to get suspicious.

"Oh it's time, but it's a surprise," Barney said, getting up and walking over to the table, holding a red bandana in his hands. He tossed it to Lee who quickly started tying it around Sky's eyes, blinding the girl.

Sky reached out blindly as her vision was taken away and managed to get her pinky and ring finger of her right hand stuck in her chili cheese fries. She grimaced before she felt someone grab her hand and wipe it down with a napkin. "We bring the present to you," Yin spoke up beside her.

She heard shuffling around her and frowned in confusion when she started to realize that the men were all getting up from their chairs and moving them about. For a second she thought they were going to play musical chairs or leave her there before she started thinking. What present could be big enough that they needed to move their seats out of the way? "Did you guys get me more guns? Is it like a rocket launcher or something?"

"Patience sweetheart," her dad said in her ear before she felt him kiss the top of her head and move away from her. Sky held onto the teddy bear in her hands and squeezed it a bit tighter, wondering what the hell was going on around her. She could hear some whispering and some barely restrained laughter from Caesar no doubt, but other than that she had no idea what they were doing. She started biting at her lip, a nervous habit that she'd had since childhood as she strained her ears, trying to hear something that could give her more information. "Alright, on the count of three you can take the blindfold off. One… two… three!"

Without hesitation, Sky pulled off the blindfold and had to blink as her eyes got adjusted to the light. The second her eyes adjusted, they landed on someone standing in front of her with his arms extended, holding a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese icing in one hand with a red bow stuck onto his forehead. Her eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth, dropping the teddy, as her eyes landed on the familiar golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes, practically sparkling. She stared for a split second before she made a muffled screaming noise and jumped up from her seat, running over to him and jumping at him, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. Immediately she felt one of his arms wrap around her waist.

"Happy Birthday, Sky!"

That was his voice. That was his same laugh he used whenever he found something amusing. This was real. He was here. Her brother was home. She reached up on her toes to kiss his cheek before she went back to hugging him again, happy that he was there. She let out a laugh, an exuberant happy laugh and pulled away from him to look at his face. He was wearing a full blown smile on his face even as the large red bow started falling into his eyes and she couldn't help but laugh and poke at the ribbon. "Jake Jensen I can't believe you're here!" She laughed again before she heard other laughs coming from around her. She turned and saw the other men laughing and smiling at the interaction while Caesar had a camera in his hand. "Caesar, are you filming this?"

"Hell yeah! This shit is adorable!"

"It's okay Baby-Face, I had pretty much the same reaction," Gunnar grinned, walking over to wrap an arm around his son's shoulders and pull him in close.

Dragging her attention back to Jake she shook her head at him and smiled. "When did you get back? What are you doing here?"

"I'm on leave for a few days, but before that," he put the cupcake in front of her face and held it as an offering. She smiled and took it gratefully.

"Alright I'd like some explanations now."

Caesar stopped recording and the group slowly migrated back to the table, with Jake stealing Yin's spot beside Sky so he could explain and steal French fries, looking perfectly at home. It was almost as if he never left. "So, my team got back from a mission in Argentina the other day so we got five days of leave. I called dad and told him and we started planning a way to surprise you," Jake explained, grabbing another chili cheese fry from his sister's plate. He popped it into his mouth and shrugged. "So Barney flew out to get me from the base and—"

"You said that was for information on a new mission," Sky interrupted, turning an accusing glare towards the Italian.

Barney just grinned. "Oops."

"Anyway," Jake cut in, going back to his explanation. "After Barney came and got me I still had a day to wait so I hid in Tool's tattoo shop for a bit. Then while you were talking to Yin earlier, I came down here to get ready for the big surprise. Are you happy with your present?"

"I'm thrilled."

"I knew you would be. I mean, it's not every birthday you're gifted with such an attractive, strong, amazing—"

"Humble," Toll cut in with a smirk.

Jake pouted.

"So how long will you be here for?" Sky asked curiously. She picked at the fries on her plate, not at all concerned with the fact that Gunnar, Barney, and her father were all now reaching around to snag a few of the fries like Jake was. She popped one into her mouth before looking to her brother.

Jake smiled at her. "I've got four days left to hang out here. So looks like you're stuck with me for the next ninety-six hours."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she smiled back.

"This is a time for celebration," Lee piped up from his spot behind his daughter. He stood up to place his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head before raising his beer bottle up. "To Sky, who's one year older, one year wiser, and one year closer to joining the Expendables. And to Jake, who's returned back from his team, making us all proud as he serves in the Army."

"To Sky and Jake!"

Sky smiled at the men surrounding her all laughing and talking at once, with smiles on their faces and couldn't help but think back to what she wrote in her journal earlier. She was right. These men—these mercenaries—were the only family real family she ever had. They were all so different and so unique and the each cared about her. She loved each and every one of them and she couldn't picture her life without them. This was her family. And that was something that wasn't expendable.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_June 8__th, __2010_

_So, I just spent the entire morning with Jake and Gunnar, trying to get as much time with my brother as possible. After my party last night, I realized I only had a certain amount of days with him and I wasn't going to waste them. And thankfully, Gunnar understood that and easily fit me in to the schedule he had planned out for him and Jake. Well, except for the strip club they were going to go to before dinner. That I would __not be __tagging along for, no matter how good a wing-woman I am for Jake. Anyway, it was while we were at the mall when everything started to go downhill. Apparently, the small community of kids we went to school with was much smaller than we thought. And apparently they still all held onto things from the past. So of course we run into my ex-boyfriend Alec. I honestly have no idea __what __I saw in Alec, but I'm just accrediting that to being a very dark time in my life in which my brain didn't work correctly; otherwise known as adolescence. Anyway, the whole reason he's my __**ex**__-boyfriend is because he decided to break up with me two weeks before Christmas, saying he didn't 'like me anymore, let alone love me' and started dating his ex-girlfriend three days later. Suffice to say I held a grudge—as did the rest of the Expendables team and Jake. So seeing him on a day that I was supposed to be devoting to Jake made me really frustrated really fast; especially when Alec walked over and tried talking to me. That made me—and Jake and Gunnar—about ready to throw punches. I was __very f__rustrated. And I still am._

_And when I'm frustrated I'm not a very pleasant person to be around, according to Caesar. So dad suggested an impromptu training session so I can work out my frustration before he goes out on his 'date-not-date' with Lacy and so Jake could get some practice in. Huh, I never really did get around to talking about Lacy did I? I guess I can do that now. I absolutely adore Lacy. She's an amazing person. She met my dad around five months ago when she walked into the bar on a particularly bad night when she broke up with her boyfriend. They started talking and immediately hit it off. They obviously like each other, and I'm sure dad's going to ask her out soon, but so far they've just been playing cat and mouse. _

_I just hope he asks her out soon before someone else swoops in and steals her away. She's beautiful, smart, funny, and caring. Any man would be lucky to have her. And so far she makes my dad happy, so that's all I can really ask of her. Plus, she also tends to side with me whenever my dad and I have an argument, just to rile him up. Barney says she does it to earn extra brownie points with me since I mean a lot to dad and she wants me to like her. He's probably right, but she's totally earning every brownie point she gets. But that's really all I've got time to write for right now. Jake just walked in to let me know that the rest of the team is down in the garage waiting for me. Time for me to let off some steam; or in other words get my ass kicked by Yin… again. At least I won't be alone. Toll is totally going to crush Jake. _

_-Sky Christmas_

"Patience is a virtue, Sky," Toll said sagely from his spot on the mats just away from the center of the room where Yin was having his training session with Sky. The other men were already there, surrounding the training area with amused looks on their faces. It had been just minutes earlier that Sky had been upstairs in her room before she and Jake came down for their training session. Currently she was getting her ass handed to her by Yin, while she tried to get an edge on her trainer. She was good and she had definitely made some progress in her fights with Yin, but he was a master martial artist. She was outclassed when it came to him. "You can't just let Alec get to you."

Jake who was in the middle of pulling off his sneakers and socks to get ready for his session with Toll after Yin and Sky's, turned to look at his mentor and scowled. "Trust me, that dude can get under _anyone's_ skin. He's totally sleazy. I mean, I'm surprised we didn't go out and try to kill him when he first broke up with her. Well, not that murder is okay or anything, but in this situation I think an exception could be made. And we probably could figure out somewhere to hide the body. I mean, we know a lot of people and I'm sure Roque knows how to dispose of a body. Honestly, I think he may have been a serial killer if he didn't become a soldier."

"Still doesn't matter," Toll shrugged, stretching out outside of the mats. "You still need patience, Baby-Face."

Sky landed painfully on the matted floors of the garage with Yin twisting her arm behind her back. "I know," she muttered trying to wriggle free from Yin's iron-clad grip. It didn't really work for her. "It's just frustrating."

"Well at least you never have to see him again," Barney said from his spot, as Yin tapped Sky on the cheek and helped her to her feet, reminding her to stay focused.

"Ouch, you alright there, Sky?" Jake laughed, thoroughly amused by the sparring session. She glared in response.

"Easy on her, Happy Feet," Gunnar ordered, crossing his arms over his chest with a frown on his face.

"She needs to learn," Yin retorted from his spot, taking another stance in front of Sky while said girl just tossed the blonde man a reassuring smile, showing that she was alright. She shot off again, aiming a punch for Yin's face, and quickly going onto defense when he blocked easily and started sending a volley of punches and kicks her way. She managed to block or evade most of the attacks while taking the ones she knew that she could take. That was something Yin taught her. In a fight there was no way you wouldn't get hit; so you take the ones you can take, the non-lethal ones, and retaliate. But just when she went to retaliate with a kick to his face, he stooped down and swept her legs out from underneath her so she hit the mats again. She barely had time to catch her breath before Yin's hand was around her throat. She huffed out a breath in frustration before Yin tapped her cheek and gave her a small smile. "You're getting better."

"Yeah, but I'm still getting my ass kicked," she muttered.

Yin's smile widened and he let go of her neck, standing up so he could help her to her feet. "Alright, I've got to agree with Gunnar," Lee spoke up from the desk chair he was in, his legs propped up on a small stack of tires nearby. "Take it easy on my baby girl."

"It's nothing I can't handle," Sky assured as she backed up, stepping out of range so she and Yin could set up once again. She smirked slightly when she smelt cologne as she circled around the martial artist near where her dad was seated. "I can't help but notice that you're wearing cologne dad." That comment caused, Caesar to 'oohhhh' childishly, Toll to smile, Barney to smirk and Gunnar to laugh and Jake to look curiously at the knife thrower. Even Yin let a smile grace his features. "So does that mean you're all ready for your date with Lacy?"

"Lacy? Is that the chick that has a thing for Lee that I met last night?" Jake asked with raised eyebrow and a slight smirk on his face.

"That's the one," Sky smirked back.

"It's not a date, Skylar," Lee replied immediately, glaring at each of the men in the room. "And forget what I said Yin, she knows what she's doing."

"Touchy, are you?" Barney taunted before turning his attention back to the sparring duo on the mats in front of him.

Sky just ducked down under a roundhouse kick from Yin and backed out of a right hook before she ducked down, charging at his midsection. She plowed her shoulder into his stomach while using her hands to grab the back of his knees and lift him up, slamming him into the ground in a takedown. "Atta girl!" Toll shouted while the other men whooped and Jake cheered loudly. Her achievement was short-lived, however, since Yin quickly flipped them both over so he was on top of her before kneeing her lightly in the ribs—taking care not to hurt her too much—before flipping her over so she was on her stomach with his knee in her back and her arm bent behind her.

Yin kept her pinned to the ground before looking up at Toll with an almost annoyed expression on his face. The Asian pointed an accusing finger his way before pointing down to his protégé. "You've been teaching her."

"It was just a couple moves," Toll shrugged with an apologetic grin.

Jake gasped in mock horror. "What? Toll, I thought what we had was special! You said you were a one student trainer!"

Toll rolled his eyes.

"No more," Yin ordered seriously before letting go of the squirming girl beneath him and helping her up once again. Once she was on her feet he dusted her shoulder lightly before looking back to Toll. "This what happens when you teach her. She throws her body around without strategy and technique."

Toll frowned. "Her technique was plenty good. But I will admit she probably shouldn't try that against a martial artist."

"Yeah, that's the whole reason I switched to MMA," Jake piped up with a shrug. "I couldn't hack it as a martial artist. Hey, did you get it? Hack? Cause I'm a hacker."

"That was brilliant Jake," Sky muttered, moving her shoulder around to loosen it up. She turned to look over her shoulder at her father and raised an eyebrow. "So, should I be waiting up for you while you're on this 'not-date' or should I bunk up with one of the other guys today?"

Lee glared at his daughter while Caesar started laughing loudly, somehow managing to compose himself long enough so he could smirk at their resident knife thrower. "Yes, Mr. Christmas, what time should we be expecting you back?"

"I'll stab you in the neck."

"There you go again, being all sensitive," Barney added on with a grin.

"I have a knife with your name on it too," Lee threatened before looking back to his daughter, giving her a small smile. "I'll _call_ when I'm on my way back. If it gets too late, you can bunk up with one of the guys. And remember to bring your—"

"My knives with me, yes I know," Sky cut off, nodding at the rule that she had heard ever since she turned ten years old. Whenever her dad wasn't there at night, she would bunk up with one of the others guys to make sure she was protected at all times, and to make sure someone was there if she ever had a relapse in nightmares. It had been years since she had any and she was plenty good at taking care of herself, but she didn't mind. She liked bunking up. It was like a sleepover. "And make sure I'm given a gun by whoever I'm with so that on the _very_ slight chance some idiot decides to break in and attack us on our home turf, I'm properly equipped to defend myself."

"Good girl," he smiled before he stood up suddenly, jumping around in his spot as he reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out his cell phone, looked at the screen before a goofy smile formed on his face. When he looked up he noticed everyone staring his way with smirks on their faces and he promptly schooled his features, narrowing his eyes at all of them. "Lacy's here. I shouldn't be gone long." He walked onto the mats and kissed Sky on the temple before pausing so she could kiss his cheek and hug him.

"Have fun dad," she smiled before nudging him off towards the door. He smiled at her briefly before walking out of the garage. The group of mercenaries all waited in silence until they heard Lee's motorcycle turn on and head away from the garage. The second they were sure he was gone, they all started laughing.

"Hey, if my man doesn't get him some tonight, I'm gonna be outraged _for_ him," Caesar commented, shaking his head. "Those two are so sweet on one another it ain't even funny."

"You can say that again," Toll agreed while Yin and Sky set up once again. "He's just too scared to ask her out."

"You know, you'd think that a man who literally gets himself into life and death situations as his career wouldn't be so afraid of a woman," Sky mused, taking her stance and circling around her master once again. She narrowed her eyes bit before shrugging. "Granted, Lacy's awesome. I still think dad shouldn't be afraid."

"Ha!" Jake exclaimed suddenly, shaking his head as he walked over to his dad to grab his mouth guard from him, allowing his father to place it into his mouth. Thus he couldn't say anything more.

"What?"

"You've got a lot to learn, Baby-Face," Barney chuckled. "You've got no idea how your gender can control a man."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. I mean, you've got Gunnar and Jake wrapped around your little finger, don't you?"

Gunnar nodded, not even denying the fact that he was powerless in the palm of the young teen sparing on the mats while he put his son's gloves on. Jake nodded too trying to mumble through his mouth guard. "This is true," they both chorused, though Jake's was a jumbled mess.

Toll frowned. "A relationship is much more than someone controlling another person. It's about love and respect."

"How you don't have a girlfriend yet, Toll, I'll never know," Sky said, tossing the demolitions expert a smile and earning one in return. "But still, I don't think that dad should be so hesitant."

Yin surged forward and balled up his fist, intending to strike Sky's cheek. She let out a curse and ducked quickly only to get a knee to her stomach, sending her back. She felt her arm being bent awkwardly around her back—this time making a chicken wing—before Yin wrapped his arm around her throat and pulled her back, placing his mouth right by her ear. "Don't lose focus." With that he tapped her cheek lightly before letting go, pushing her away so she could set up again.

"You are actually getting better," Caesar commented, tilting his head to the side.

Barney nodded his agreement. "Yin training you was a good call. Soon enough you'll be able to fight just like your dad."

"So does that mean you'll move my time frame up for joining you guys?" She asked, trying to kick out Yin's knee. He moved his leg out of the way and shifted his weight to try and kick her in the side but she ducked down and connected a side kick to his back, pushing him out of range.

"Hell no," Gunnar answered for them.

"Why not?" Sky pouted, looking over at him. Almost a second after she did it however, she whipped back around and jumped back, seeing Yin about to kick her side. She looked solely on him and got her footing once again. "I know how to use guns because of Barney and Caesar. Toll taught me some explosive work—"

"Come again?" Barney asked with a tone to his voice that she recognized as his 'Godfather' tone. It was the tone he used whenever her father was gone and she had done something she wasn't supposed to or when he was trying to intimidate one of her friends; her male friends.

Sky winced before tossing a punch towards Yin. He quickly caught it and flipped her over his back, before lifting his leg up to connect an axe kick. She rolled out of the way and ended up bumping into something with her back. She blinked in surprise that she hit something before looking up to see that Barney was now standing over her on the mats, his arms crossed and an expression on his face that told her he wanted an explanation. She heard Jake saying 'oohhhh' before he was smacked by someone. It was probably Gunnar.

Sky grinned sheepishly up at Barney. "Remember that you love me."

"When were you learning how to deal with explosives?" Barney asked, reaching down to grab her upper arm and hoist her to her feet.

She shifted around uncomfortably, shooting a look towards Toll who suddenly became very intrigued with the gloves he was placing on his hands; the gloves that were on the wrong hands. Seeing that he wouldn't be any help, she turned back to her godfather and shrugged. "Three months ago. After that job you pulled in Portugal, Toll explained how you guys almost got blown up by some bomb. So I started asking a few questions and one thing led to another and he taught me some basic stuff. It was completely safe and we used duds, though, I promise."

Barney sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking from the teen in front of him to the demolitions expert. He rolled his eyes spotting the incorrectly placed gloves, before barking at the man. "No more teaching her explosives without Lee or I knowing. And you two are going to be the ones to tell him, not me."

"Aw, c'mon, he'll want to castrate me!" Toll complained as he fixed his gloves.

"Perhaps you can use that takedown you showed Sky to fight him," Yin piped up, earning a glare from the demolitions expert.

Barney looked down at Sky once again before noticing the red marks on her right arm, starting at her shoulder and moving down to her elbow. He frowned and touched the area with his fingers. She immediately flinched and pulled away, causing his frown to deepen. "You hurt your shoulder."

"What?" Jake managed to say through his mouth guard. He pulled his hand away from his dad and walked over to the small brunette with Gunnar at his heels. The younger blonde took her arm gently in his hand to run his fingers along the injured arm before he frowned.

Gunnar saw the shape her arm was in and looked over his shoulder to glare at his partner. "I told you to ease up on her."

"She's supposed to tell me when she's hurt so I can stop," Yin replied easily, a frown on his face as he started to move closer so he could examine his protégé's arm. Gunnar stepped in his way, glaring down at the shorter man. Yin glared up at him without fear. "Move so I can see her arm."

"No."

"C'mon Gunnar, it wasn't his fault," Caesar said, already getting up and pulling Toll along just in case they would have to separate the two men. It wouldn't be the first time Gunnar and Yin went at it.

Gunnar still didn't move. Only when he felt a hand on his arm did he turn to look back at Jake and Sky. His son had his mouth piece out and in between the fingers of his left hand, while he had his right hand on his shoulder. He had a smile on his face but he could see the slightly worried look in his blue eyes. It was the same look Sky had as she looked back and forth between her martial arts trainer and Gunnar. "It's alright dad, Sky's good, right Sky?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit bruised is all, and it's really my fault for not paying attention or telling Yin my shoulder was bothering me. Just let him see it so he can see if I'm good to keep going or not."

The blonde man looked down at the two for a few seconds before stepping to the side, so Yin could examine her arm. He still hovered around behind Jake and Barney—who was holding onto Sky's good shoulder—while Caesar and Toll circled around, trying to see the bruised arm as well. Yin frowned, moving her arm around. It rotated correctly, but he didn't miss her slight grimace when he moved it a certain way. "Ice it and try not to move above shoulder level. Next time, tell me so doesn't happen."

"Got it," Sky sighed.

"Alright, I guess that means it's Toll and Jake's turn. I'll take care of getting you an ice pack. Go take a seat and rest," Barney said before walking out of the room to get ice.

"Aye-Aye, Cap'n."

Yin steered Sky back off the mats while Gunnar followed behind, still glaring slightly at his partner. Jake noticed and made a mental note to talk with Sky when he got a chance later before he looked forward and saw that he was the only one left on the mat with Toll. Without hesitation Jake stuffed his mouth guard back around his teeth, knowing he would need it against his former mentor. "Get ready. I wanna see what you can do," Toll smirked, placing his own mouth guard in.

With that Toll shot off for the boy, aiming a volley of punches for his face and body. Jake managed to duck or block all of the ones to the face and most of the ones to the body, except for a pretty nasty right hook to the body. He winced but immediately ducked and rolled out of the way of a Spartan kick to the chest, trying to get his bearings. He had forgotten Toll was that good. He'd have to use all his skills. Internally he wished his team was there to see how badass he was. Jake tried to run at Toll's back to get a rear-naked choke in but he was flipped over so he landed on his back painfully onto the mats and Toll's fist stopped flying just an inch away from his nose.

"Ouch, you okay there, Jake?" He heard Sky's voice, full of amusement, mock what he'd said earlier.

"Don't kill my kid," Gunnar shouted, a threatening tone to his voice.

Toll ignored the Viking. "You're a little rusty there, Jake. Let's see if we can't fix that."

Jake sprawled out on the mats and blew out a breath through his nose. This was going to be a _long_ training session.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_June 8__th, __2010,_

_So, it's around eleven o'clock and I still haven't gotten a call from dad. I did, however, receive a text message from him four hours ago, saying that all was going well and that I might end up having to bunk with one of the guys after all. I wasted no time in running around the floor of the apartments, knocking frantically on all of their doors and shouting for them all to get out. In hindsight, that probably wasn't my best idea. Shouting at a group of mercenaries to come out of their rooms while knocking on their doors like a lunatic doesn't seem like a good idea in any situation. So it was no surprise that they all came out with weapons. Caesar had his big ass guns, Toll and Yin had their M-16's, Gunnar had his big bowie knife and Barney had his revolver. On reflex, I had pulled the gun from my waistband out before I realized what I was doing. Jake had been the only one sans weapon._

_Caesar complimented my reaction time before I told the boys to all gather around to read the text message. Caesar started hooting and hollering immediately, before rushing back into his room to grab his phone so he could blow-up Lee's phone with innuendos and taunts. Thankfully, Toll ran after him to make sure he didn't do anything too stupid. Yin had just smiled and rolled his eyes while Barney laughed, saying 'about time.' Gunnar had immediately offered to have me bunk with him tonight. That's why I'm currently sitting in his living room, huddled underneath the pillow fort he'd insisted on making since both me and Jake are staying the night with him, like we did when we were kids. We're just waiting for him to come back with the sodas he said he'd get when he realized he was all out._

_And now Jake is looking over my shoulder, breathing __very __loudly in my ear which is well within my personal space, by the way. Instead of moving away like a sane person, he just keeps reading everything I'm writing while making small laughs every now and then. Like the one he just made right now. Looks like I have to stop here so I can kill him. _

_-Sky Christmas_

"Not the face!"

The pillow flew right into Jake's face, despite his plea.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear that," Sky smirked, shutting her journal to place it into the corner of the fort that she had claimed for herself. When she turned back around, Jake had the pillow still on his face while he was sprawled out on the ground, apparently exhausted. "You still tired from Toll kicking your ass?"

"I forgot how painful those sessions were with him," he mumbled into the pillow before she took pity on him and removed the object from his face. This allowed him to look her way and smile slightly. "But, I'd totally rather fight Toll than go against Roque. He scares me. I think he wants to eat my soul some days, which is totally weird cause he's not a ginger."

"You know, I still don't understand that whole thing," Sky said, rolling her eyes. She never really got—or cared for—the ginger jokes.

"So, are you really going to join the Expendables when you turn twenty?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow. When she looked at him and nodded he screwed his face up into one of confusion and curiosity. "How did you convince them of that one?"

Since she turned sixteen she would always ask if she could go on their assignments and Jake was well aware of that. Each and every time she had asked, all the men said no. It was only after she turned eighteen that Barney had made a suggestion. When Sky turned twenty she would be able to join the team as a full member.

Lee had been against the idea from the start, with a large majority of the team agreeing with their knife thrower. The one most firmly placed in Lee's corner happened to be Gunnar who didn't want to see anything bad happen to Baby-Face, just as he was reluctant to let Jake go off to enlist. After a while of Sky's begging, Barney's rationalization, and the girl showing her skills more, they slowly started to change their minds. At first it was Yin who switched sides. He was her trainer in martial arts, so he knew exactly what she was capable of. He knew she could handle herself. It took only a few hours of pouting and begging to get Toll to switch sides. He was just a big softy on the inside. Caesar decided to change his mind because he thought that Sky could take care of herself, and Tool hadn't been for or against the idea. That had only left Gunnar and Lee.

To convince Gunnar it had taken a spectacular display of tears and sobbing. Her tears had been enough to sway him to agree with her. He didn't want her to be in danger, but he didn't want her to be sad either. And with all the men on the same page, Lee was forced to finally agree. Granted it took a month to finally get him to say 'yes', but after seeing that his daughter was adamant, he knew he couldn't sway her. So he agreed with Barney's proposal, adding on the terms that she was to only work with their team and that she was to be shuffled around the partners depending on the type of job they had so that she was always with the best people to defend her.

"Barney stuck up for me and the others started backing me too. I gave your dad a guilt trip so he would agree and then dad had no choice but to agree too."

"You're sneaky," Jake laughed.

Sky smiled and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, enough about me how do you like your new team? Tell me about them. I don't really know much about them."

"I write to you about them all the time."

"Not all the time, and most of what you tell me is mission related and only brief comments. I want to know more. And I want to hear you talk. I missed hearing you talk and I know how much you love to do that."

Jake mock glared at her as she flopped down on her stomach, placing the pillow she'd just thrown at Jake under her head so she could get comfortable before he gave a slight smile. "Well, I _do_ like to talk. And I _do_ have a very sexy and alluring voice; I'm like a damn male siren. It's a curse, really."

"Ew."

"Anyway," he smiled, nudging her leg. "What do you want to know about the Losers?"

"Are any of them cute and single?"

Soreness be damned, Jake shot up into a seated position and looked down at his sister in surprise. "I'm sorry what? I seem to have gone temporarily deaf and insane for a moment there. It almost sounded like you asked as if any of my teammates are cute and single? And I know that must be wrong, because there's no way in _hell_ I'm going to set you up with someone from my team."

"After all the years I've been your loyal wing-woman, this is the thanks I get?" She asked with an amused smirk.

Jake paused before glaring. "You suck," he muttered, flopping back down.

Sky laughed. "I was kidding Jake. I'd just settle for meeting your team. But tell me about them first."

"Alright, that sounds so much easier to do. So I guess I should start with Clay. He's my CO, Lt. Col. Franklin Clay. He's a good man. He's really smart too and he keeps us all together. But the man has a bad reputation with women."

"Hm, he sounds like a perfect candidate," she joked, causing Jake to groan.

"Oh God no, the chicks he dates are crazy. One shot him in the leg and the other put a bomb in his car."

"Uh… why?"

"They were psychotic. It's gotten so bad that it's to the point that I have to run background checks on all the girls Clay wants to date. I'm actually half-convinced that Clay having sex with them makes them go crazy. He must have like psycho sex powers. No one else buys my theory, though."

"I wonder why," Sky deadpanned. Jake smacked at her leg and she smiled slightly. "Okay, so let's cross him off the list. Are the other guys like that?"

"No, but they're all quirky. Like the soul-eater, Roque. He's our second in command and he has an unnatural knife fetish, kind of like your dad. And he's got this wicked scar going through his right eye, which is pretty cool and freaky at the same time. Like, I'm pretty sure he fought a bear to get that scar. It would totally fit with his personality. But anyway, sometimes I think he wants to kill me."

"Hm, so he's off the list too," Sky laughed, earning a pointed look from Jake.

"Pooch is definitely off the list. He's the one who's married. I think I wrote about him. He's the transpo and heavy weapons guy, has the wife named Jolene who's really nice and always makes me cookies when I'm there, refers to himself in the third person."

Sky nodded. "Oh yeah, I remember him."

"So the last guy is Cougar."

"Cougar?" Sky asked with a raised eyebrow and a small smile on her face. "That's an interesting name."

"Yeah I still have no idea why he called himself that, but I'm too scared to ask," Jake admitted with a laugh. "Cougar is a total badass. He's our sniper and it's insane how good he is. Like he could probably shoot the glasses off my face without hurting me at all. It's cool and freaking scary at the same time. He doesn't say much though. I think it might be because of his accent because he's from Spain. And he's always wearing a cowboy hat. We're never allowed to touch it or else face imminent doom."

"Hm… from _España?_" Sky asked with a smile. "Sounds like a good option."

"Since when do you speak Spanish so nicely?" Jake asked with a frown, noting his sister's accent.

She rolled her eyes. "I actually paid attention in Spanish class in high school. Besides, you know Michelle was Puerto Rican. She taught me how to speak before dad took me."

The blue-eyed boy winced, having inadvertently brought up Sky's mom. He cleared his throat and plowed on, trying to do damage control. "Anyway, Cougar to women is like catnip to cats. It's totally unfair how much game he's got and I can barely speak to women."

"You can talk to women, you just need confidence," she assured, nudging his shoulder with her hand. "We'll go out before you leave so I can help you find someone."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm a team player even though _you_ don't want to set me up with your nice sniper teammate."

Jake heard the laugh in her voice and laughed himself before shaking his head. "You know what, fine. If you ever meet him I'll set you up with Cougar."

"Nah, I was kidding."

"Nope, you opened this door, you can't close it now."

Sky's eyes widened and she turned to her brother, shaking her head vehemently. "No seriously, Jake, I was totally kidding. I hate being set up, you know that. I just wanted to mess with you."

"Uh-uh, you're not getting out of this," he grinned mischievously, thoroughly enjoying tormenting his sister after she harassed him. "I'm going to let Cougar know that you're looking for some Spanish _amor _the second I get back."

"Jake! I was _kidding!_" Sky shouted shaking his shoulder childishly as her cheeks dusted a pink color. When Jake just continued smirking she sighed in exasperation and flopped down on her pillow again, burying her face into it. She had no doubt that Jake would actually do it.

The two sat in a companionable silence for a few seconds before Jake turned over onto his side to look at his sister. "So, what's up with dad and Yin? They're acting worse to each other." Sky's back muscles tensed, as did her arms and she didn't say anything. That was already a bad sign. "Sky, seriously, what's going on with them? Is everything alright?"

"You being gone was tough on all of us."

"What does that mean?" Jake asked, poking at his sister's side, causing her to flinch and scoot away. He didn't like the way she was dancing around a straight answer. "Sky, tell me what's going on."

It took around a minute for Sky to lift her face out of the pillow to look at him. Her eyes were full of sadness and guilt. Jake braced himself for the worst. "Jake, Gunnar started using again."

Jake froze, trying to process what he'd just heard. His father was using again. After all the damage that meth had done to him, he had started abusing it again. He saw what the drug could do to his father and after he and Sky had witnessed him going through a withdrawal at the age of twelve and eleven respectively, he'd agreed to stop. And he did. He'd been clean for eight years. Why on Earth would he start using again? "When?" Jake asked, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"Victoria heard about you joining the military," she sighed, turning herself over so she was looking in his direction. "She blamed Gunnar for pushing you into it and she said that he would be the reason you came home in a pine box."

Jake felt his heart plummet. Of course, if there was any reason his dad would start using it would have to be because his mom told him that he would be the cause of his death.

"After that he kept thinking about all the worst-case scenarios. It ate away at him and then he just started using again. I've been trying to keep him as grounded as possible and to convince him to quit, but I'm not sure how much I can do on my own. He'd listen to you if you talked to him, though."

"Not yet," he sighed, removing his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I'll talk to him before I leave. I don't want to get into a fight and waste the time I have here."

"I understand."

"Hey Sky?"

"Hm?"

"I need to ask you a favor."

Sky frowned slightly and looked at her brother, waiting for him to continue. His blue eyes found her brown ones and she could see the sadness in them. "While I'm gone I need you to look after my dad for me, okay? I don't want to see him destroy himself again. I want to know he'll be okay when I'm not here. And if anything ever happens to me, I want you to promise you'll keep him together."

Her eyes widened. "Jake, nothing is gonna happen to you."

"Just promise me, Sky. Please," he begged, extending his hand towards her with his pinky out. Sky looked down at his finger and had to ignore the pit that had slowly formed in her stomach. She never wanted anything to happen to him, and she didn't like the fact that he was suggesting something could. She sucked in a deep breath before nodding, wrapping her pinky around his, just like they did years ago when they first formed their motley crew of a family.

"I promise."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'd like to thank all of you guys that favorite and followed this story already! I'm so appreciative of the support and I'm glad that some of you are enjoying this! I also would like to give a special thanks to **Sensula** for her awesome reviews and feedback on the story! Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. I'm starting to get into the first Expendables movie in this one!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_April 14__th, __2011_

Sky sat on the floor of the hanger owned by the Expendables team listening to the bustle going on around her while she busied herself with loading bullets into the empty magazines scattered on the floor by her leg. Her long dark hair was picked up in a messy bun so it was out of her face and she had on her contacts instead of her glasses so she didn't have to worry about it falling down her nose. She was wearing an old grey tank top and an old pair of sweatpants that had been a hand-me-down from Jake. They had to be rolled up a few times to fit properly, but it was comfortable and something she wore when she was around the house or working with guns, like she was then. She had kicked her sneakers off in a corner of the room by her backpack, so she could sit cross-legged as she continued with her task.

The Expendables had just gotten their latest mission and the men were all prepping to go. Caesar was loading boxes of supplies and weapons onto the plane while Barney and Lee were doing the pre-flight check in the cock-pit. Tool was going over last minute mission details with Toll, Gunnar, and Yin, while she sat on the floor, getting their extra magazines together so they didn't have to worry about it. Her fingers were sore from the repetitive process of pushing bullets down into the magazines, but she didn't complain about it. She finished with the one she was working on and grabbed the last four to place them in front of her. She reached into the box of bullets and continued her work.

"So, where is it that you guys are going again?" Sky asked for the first time, looking up to the group of four men over by the table.

"Gulf of Aden," Yin replied easily.

"We've got to rescue the crew of some ship from Somali pirates," Toll shrugged. "Just another day at the office."

"How long do you think the job will take?" She asked again, finishing with another magazine to start on the next.

Tool shook his head as he looked at the drawn out plans on the table in front of him. "It shouldn't be too long. About a day for travel, a day or two for recon, another day for clean-up and a day back. Should be around a week."

Gunnar walked over and placed a hand on her head, prompting her to look up and smile at the blonde giant. "Don't worry, Baby-Face. We'll be back before you know it. You want any help with that last one?"

"Sure," she said. He sat down in front of her and grabbed the last magazine to start filling it. She noticed that as he was grabbing for bullets and loading them in, his fingers were shaking. She paused in her task and looked at Gunnar with a more critical eye. She caught a glance at his eyes and tensed when she saw how dilated they were. She looked over her shoulder to make sure the others were far enough away before she finished with the magazine she'd been working on scooted closer to the man, kneeling in front of him. "Gunnar, are you using again?" She whispered.

Gunnar didn't answer and didn't look up. He just kept loading the magazine.

"Gunnar," she whispered again, placing a hand on his to stop his work. Slowly he looked up and stared at her and she could clearly see that he was high. His jaw was slightly clenched and behind his dilated eyes she could see what looked like shame. She rested on her legs and let her shoulders slump. "Gunnar."

"It was just this one time."

"Gunnar, you've been clean for almost a year," she said, trying to keep her voice down and make sure no one else could hear them. "What happened?"

"I miss Jake," he muttered, going back to loading the magazine.

"I miss him too, Gunnar, but you can't keep doing this." She took the magazine out of his hands as he finished and placed it off to the side with the others. "It's not what he would want for you. And I get scared for you whenever you go through withdrawal. Do the others know you started again?"

"Dunno."

"Gunnar, don't do anything stupid on this job, okay?" Sky begged, giving his hand a squeeze. He squeezed back. "Please, don't do anything stupid. It's my job to look after you."

He forced a laugh and sent her a small smile as he looked her way. "Shouldn't this be the other way around?"

"Nope, my dad looks out for me more than enough to compensate for everyone," she smiled. "I figure the least I can do is make sure all you boys stay safe."

"Plane's all set!"

Sky looked over her shoulder to see her father poking his head outside of the plane door while Caesar started making his way over to her and Gunnar. She quickly let go of the blonde man and started gathering the magazines up in her arms to deposit them in the black duffel bag that rested just a few feet away. "You all done with those, Baby-Face?"

"Just finished, Caesar," she smiled, zipping up the bag before tossing it towards the muscled-man.

"Thanks," he said, stooping down to kiss her forehead. "Let's go Gunnar, time to get this shit over with."

Gunnar grumbled a bit before leaning over to kiss Sky's hair. "I'll be fine," he whispered before patting her hair and standing up. He walked over to the others and grabbed his duffel bag before he started following Caesar onto the plane. She pushed herself up and started walking over to where Toll, Tool, and Yin were standing.

"Be good," Yin said simply before hugging her and kissing her hair. "Practice your moves."

"I will," she smiled just before Toll moved and squished her in a bear hug. "Keep the others in line, Toll."

"Will do," he laughed before kissing her cheek and turning away to walk with Yin back to the plane.

Lee hopped out of the plane, with Barney right behind him and passed the two on their way into the plane, while they made a beeline for her and Tool. "You keep Tool out of trouble now, you got me?" Barney smiled, edging past Lee to get to his Goddaughter first so he could hug her.

"I'll keep an eye on him," she laughed.

"Damn, looks like I'm going to have to cancel my plans," Tool piped up in amusement as he rolled up the plans he had on the table. He handed them off to Barney the second he let go of the brunette. "It should be a simple mission, in and out."

"We'll be fine."

"I'll be back soon," Lee assured, moving forward to hug his daughter, letting his finger tangle in some of her hair. "I'll call and text you every chance I can. You take care of yourself and Lacy, okay?"

"I will," Sky assured, holding onto her father tightly, wishing she didn't have to let him go. When he pulled away and kissed her forehead she couldn't help but smile slightly. "In two months we won't have to keep doing this goodbye anymore. I'll be going on the missions with you then."

"Then you'll be raising hell with us," Barney laughed, turning to head towards the plane.

Lee walked backwards, so he could still look at his daughter. "But until then, be good for Tool and don't cause any problems!"

"I'll be good, I promise! You guys just take care!"

With that he saluted and followed the Italian onto the plane. She stood beside Tool and watched as the plane taxied out onto the runway before taking off into the skies, taking her family away for another mission.

"Alright kiddo, it's just you and me again," Tool announced, placing his hands on her shoulders to start steering her towards her stuff in the corner of the room. "Go get ready to head out. And if you help me lock up this place I'll buy you some ice cream."

"Make it a burger and you have a deal," Sky smiled, walking over to her backpack and her sneakers. She quickly slipped her shoes on her feet and pulled her bag over her shoulders before she helped Tool gather up every scrap of paper, the empty ammo boxes and shut all the doors of the hangar. It was something she did often with the tattoo artist each and every time the Expendables went off for a mission.

The two walked over to his motorcycle in an easy silence. Once Sky had her helmet on and was positioned behind the veteran they took off, heading back towards the area of New Orleans they called their home. As promised, before they made it to the tattoo shop, Tool stopped by a Burger King so that Sky could get a burger.

"Hey, do you mind if I go stop by Lacy's house?" Sky asked as she and Tool walked into the tattoo shop. She plopped down on the couch in the waiting area while the older man turned on all the lights and the neon 'Open' and dragon symbol sign in the window. She placed her bag of food and soda on the table in front of her before kicking her legs up. "I want to see if she'll feel up to doing something this week while dad's gone."

"You know me, kiddo. As long as you're armed to the teeth, call me every hour and are back before midnight, I got no problem with it," Tool said with a grin before he walked over to the desk to look at his appointment book. "Looks like I got two guys coming in later today for some tats so I'll be busy anyway."

"You need any help cleaning up the shop before I go?" She asked, sipping at her soda.

"Nah, I've got it. You've done more than I expected. Cleaning up the desk and fixing my appointment book around was a small miracle in itself. Besides, I cleaned the rest of the shop earlier before we went to the hanger. I just gotta set up my station."

Sky nodded and started digging into her burger and fries.

"You know, if you want I can give you a tattoo while your dad's gone," Tool suggested loudly from his spot by one of the stations he used.

She had to swallow her food and take a sip of her soda before she could start laughing. "You do that and my dad would murder you. And I actually like having you around."

"True, but I still owe you a piercing," he reminded. "You want one?"

"Maybe later," she smiled, finishing off the last of her food before she balled up the bag and tossed it in the closest garbage can. "I'm gonna get changed quickly." She just got a nod from Tool as he started setting up his tattoo guns, muttering something about his client coming in half an hour. She smiled and ran up the stairs, forgoing the lift as she did when she was a child. She pushed the door open to her bedroom and contemplated taking a shower in her room before she decided against it. She could always go shower at Lacy's house. She had enough of her clothes over there for that.

Without wasting any more time she went over to drawers and dropped her backpack down beside it so she could go through her clothes. She picked out a pair of jeans, and a US Army shirt that she'd gotten from Jake as a present. She started changing her clothes, pulling on her steel-tipped boots. She stuffed her boot knives set into each one of her shoes, rotating her ankle around before she got accustomed to the feeling and started pulling out her larger throwing knifes and her handgun and magazine. She placed the gun in the waistband of her pants and the magazine and her knives she put into her backpack which already held her wallet, keys, brass knuckles, and around a thousand dollars in emergency money in a hidden pouch her dad insisted she carry with her at all times. She grabbed her black jacket and stuffed it into the backpack before she pulled her keys out and walked back downstairs.

"I'm heading out!"

"Hold on," Tool called out before she could make it to the door. She turned to look at him and saw he had an eyebrow raised. "What do you have on you?"

"My Beretta, three spare magazines, my throwing knives, both sets of boot knives, steel-tipped boots, and my brass knuckles."

"Good girl. Go have fun and say 'hi' to Lacy for me."

"Will do!" She smiled before heading out of the tattoo shop. She walked down the street a little ways away in order to get to her black Dodge Avenger. She got in and tossed her bag into her passenger seat before starting the car and driving off. She listened to her _Shinedown_ CD play through her radio as she headed towards Lacy's house. It didn't take too long until she was parked outside and smiled, grabbing her bag to walk towards the front door. She always loved going to see Lacy. She was the only mother figure she really had in her life, even if it was only for a short time. She knew she could always talk to her about anything.

Sky walked up the steps, hoping that Lacy would be up for maybe catching a movie that week before she rang the doorbell. It just took a few minutes before the door swung open, but instead of Lacy at the front, it was a man. He had short blond hair and green eyes and he was dressed in a blue t-shirt and what looked like black pajama pants.

"Can I help you?"

A cold feeling started to envelop the brunette girl as she looked at the man in front of him. Sky Christmas wasn't a genius like her brother or Gunnar, but she wasn't stupid either. It took her less than five seconds to look at him and realize what was going on; why he was at Lacy's door. Fury started to sweep over her and it took all she had in her not to beat the man in front of her senseless. She felt absolutely sick to her stomach and disgusted. "No, you can't," Sky finally answered after a few seconds. "Sorry to have disturbed your evening."

"Sky?"

The brunette girl froze with her leg above the first step and looked back to see that Lacy was now at the door beside the man, looking at her with an expression of embarrassment, shame, and guilt. The look Lacy wore, the look in her eyes told her all she needed to know. The look told her that she was right in her assumption. Without a word, Sky looked back towards her car and started walking down the stairs, trying hard to keep her breathing even.

"Sky, please wait!"

Even though she wanted to walk away, to not turn back, she stopped and waited until Lacy was at her side. "Sky, please hear me out," Lacy begged, grabbing onto the younger woman's arm.

"I don't think there is anything in the world you can say that would make this right," Sky retorted, turning to look at Lacy, pointing vaguely towards the door where the blonde man still stood, watching them both. She glared at him before looking back to Lacy, seeing how distraught the shorter woman looked. "You're cheating on my father."

Lacy held tightly onto Sky's arm, almost as if the girl would run if she didn't. It was an accurate assumption. "Sky, I just didn't know what to do. Lee is never around and I have no idea what it is he does. How was I supposed to deal with that?"

"Any other way, just not this," she retorted, feeling a ball start to form in her throat which was a tell-tale sign she wasn't far away from crying. "My father loves you. _I _love you. We thought we could trust you. I thought you were finally a woman I had in my life that I could trust, that I looked up to. I considered you a _mother_ at times. But that's just the problem… you're _too_ much like my mother."

Lacy recoiled.

Sky ground her teeth. So her dad had told her about her issues with Michelle.

"Sky, please, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"No one ever does," she said. She yanked her arm away from Lacy and started walking towards her car, determined not to look back. She got into her car and drove away, taking a quick glance in her rearview mirror to see that Lacy was on the curb watching her drive off with a hand over her mouth. Sky only made it eight blocks before she felt hot tears run down her cheeks. She parked at a nearby bar and sat in her car, just staring at the steering wheel as tears trickled down her face. She couldn't go back to Tool's shop like this and she couldn't tell her father about what she just saw. It would crush him and while he was on a mission he needed to be focused.

Sky wished desperately that Jake was around. No matter what happened around her, she knew he would always be there for her. He was her rock in this harsh world. But he wasn't there. She would have to deal with this on her own. She spent twenty minutes in the parking lot composing herself before driving off back to the tattoo shop, prepared to use her acting skills in order to convince Tool that everything was well.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_April 21__st, __2011_

It was eight at night when she got a call from her dad that said they were arriving at the hangar. Tool had gone out immediately to go help them all unload and to see how the mission went, but Sky had skipped out. She couldn't see her father yet. She didn't know what she was going to say to him knowing what she did about Lacy. So instead she'd stayed at the shop. The entire rest of the week after discovering Lacy cheating on her father she'd spent helping out Tool in the tattoo shop, making excuses for why she didn't want to leave. She'd even contemplated taking Tool up on his offer for a tattoo to try not to think about Lacy, but she knew that would end badly whenever her dad found out.

Sky had already tidied up her room and the shop, but she was still feeling antsy. She felt anxious knowing she'd have to tell her dad about Lacy. She didn't want to be the one to bring the news; she didn't want to be the one to break his heart. As it was she was already trying to deal with her own heartbreak. She trusted Lacy. She really thought Lacy cared for her and her father, but just like Michelle, Lacy didn't care. A stab of fear and panic flooded her mind as she thought back to her time in her mother's house. No matter how old she got, no matter how much training she got, no matter how experienced she got, anytime she thought back to the needle men, her mother's friends and Michelle, she always felt like a defenseless child. She hated feeling like that. Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts from her mind and sighed. She tried her best to take her mind off of the conversation she would no doubt be having by hitting the mats to do some yoga. It was something she didn't think she would like when she first started, but she found that it helped clear her mind, especially when there was no one around to spar with.

The garage door opened just as she lifted up from Cobra and looked up, hearing the sound of motorcycles. She sucked in a deep breath and walked over towards the area where the boys parked their motorcycles, wiping her hands on her yoga pants. The second Caesar and Toll parked they were off of their bikes and moving towards her, looking like they wanted to be anywhere but there. They muttered a quick 'hi' before heading towards the stairwell to head up to the apartment. Yin followed quickly after them, muttering something in Chinese.

She frowned in confusion. What the hell was everyone's problem? Why did they all look like they were trying to get out of dodge?

"Go get cleaned up and we'll talk later."

Sky turned her attention back to the open garage door at Barney's voice only to see her father heading her way, grabbing her in a hug. She hugged him back as he kissed her hair and she took in a deep breath, trying to figure out a way to tell him about Lacy. She opened her eyes, hoping to figure something out when her eyes landed on Gunnar, walking in their direction. "Oh my God, Gunnar, what happened?" Sky asked, pulling away from her father to walk over to the blonde giant.

There was a cut through his left eyebrow that looked like it was going to need stitches to close up, with blood dripping down the side of his face. "Nothing," he grumbled, trying to move past her.

Sky grabbed his arm, causing him to stop in his tracks. "That's not 'nothing' Gunnar. What happened?" When he didn't answer she looked around to her father and Barney, hoping one of them would answer. Her dad just watched while Barney tried to make himself look busy. She frowned at them before she started tugging the blonde Viking towards the stairwell. "I'm going to help Gunnar get his eye patched up."

No one argued with her or tried to stop her.

Gunnar allowed her to tug him along up the stairs and to his room. He remained silent as she grabbed the medical kit that the Swedish man kept in his dresser drawer and he kept his head down as she walked back over to start patching him up. She pulled on gloves and took out a needle and thread after studying the injury on his face. "Head back and eyes closed," she ordered, opening up a bottle of peroxide and pulling out a cotton pad. He complied without argument and allowed her to clean the injury with only the slightest of winces. She started to stitch the area while he remained silent, wincing occasionally as she continued her work. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Nothing happened, Baby-Face."

"Gunnar, please don't lie to me right now. I've had about enough with lies as I can take this week," she muttered. At her comment, Gunnar opened one eye to look at her.

"Who lied to you?"

Sky clenched her jaw. "I'd rather not talk about it right now. Please Gunnar, just tell me what's wrong. Why is everyone acting so strange?"

"Yin kicked me in the face."

"He _what?"_ She froze in the middle of a stitch. "Why would he do that?"

Gunnar closed the one eye he had open and she took that as the sign that she wouldn't be getting more answers. He mind whirled as she patched up the blonde man. Why would Yin kick Gunnar? They had their issues, and they fought, but never had they done so on a mission. Something had to be majorly wrong for that to have happened. Sky quickly finished up her work and took a seat on the couch when Gunnar grumbled about taking a shower and getting changed. She didn't move from her spot at all, hoping that if she waited long enough, Gunnar would tell her why Yin attacked him.

It took twenty minutes for him to come out wearing boots, jeans, a white wife beater and an opened blue shirt over it, his hair still slightly wet with a bag over his shoulder. When he spotted her still on the couch he frowned. "You didn't have to wait."

"I'm worried, Gunnar."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"That's what you said before you got back with a cut on your eyebrow," she reminded gently, looking at him with a pleading glance. "I can't help if you don't let me."

Gunnar stared at her for a few seconds, not moving or saying anything before he gave her a sad smile and a nod. "You're a good girl, Sky." She smiled in response. "I'm gonna go talk to Barney. You should go to your room."

"No way, I'm going with you," she said, standing up to fall into step beside him as he moved to the door.

Gunnar gave her another sad smile before he opened the door to his apartment. They didn't say anything as they walked back down, spotting Barney working on his car. The Italian looked up after hearing them enter and frowned as he spotted Sky. He didn't say anything however. He just waited until they walked over. Gunnar leaned against one of the large pieces of machinery in the 'mechanical' area of the garage, dumping his bag on the ground, while Sky sat near Barney, looking back and forth between the two men. There was a tension in the air and she had a bad feeling that something was about to happen that she wouldn't like.

"How's your eye?" Barney asked, breaking the silence.

"Baby-Face patched me up," Gunnar replied, motioning vaguely towards her while he kept his gaze solely on Barney. "Stings a bit."

"You know what I'm gonna say, Gunnar, and I'm sorry it's gotta be this way."

"Yeah, I'm sure you are," Gunnar replied with venom as he grabbed his duffel bag and started walking towards his motorcycle.

Sky looked back and forth between the two men, dread starting to fill her system. "What are you guys talking about? What's going on?"

"Barney just let me go Baby-Face."

Sky's heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach.

"You didn't give me a choice, Gunnar."

"Whoa wait a second," she cut in, jumping to her feet so she was looking at both men. "Whatever happened on this mission, you guys can talk through it. There's no need to make rash decisions."

Gunnar turned on his motorcycle without a word. The girl flinched as it roared to life. "Barney," the Swedish man called out, catching the attention of both other occupants in the room. "Watch out for her. She's a good kid." With that Gunnar pulled out of the garage and drove off, leaving them all behind.

Sky could only stare out the door, a numb feeling starting to envelop her. She felt like her world was slowly starting to flip upside down. Lacy was cheating on her father, Jake was gone in the Army, and now Gunnar was let go from the Expendables. She didn't know how long she was staring but after a while she turned to look at Barney, trying to grasp some semblance of composure. He just looked back at her, waiting and watching. "Barney, what the hell just happened?"

"Gunnar went crazy," Barney answered without any hesitation or any sugarcoating. "He moved without our order and if we hadn't been ready he could've cost us the lives of all the hostages. Then he tried to hang a dead pirate. And you know how Yang is. He attacked Gunnar to get him to stop so he pulled a knife on Yang and almost killed him. I pulled a gun on Gunnar and we tied up his hands, stripped him of his weapons and tossed him back on the plane. He didn't give me a choice."

"Psychosis," she muttered, closing her eyes and letting out a breath. "Gunnar went through a bad withdrawal again."

"You knew he started using?"

She nodded, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, he was high the day you guys left. He said that was the only time and I believed him. It was stupid of me. I should've just told you guys."

"It's not your fault," he assured, reaching forward for her arm. She walked towards him and allowed him to pull her into a hug. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat as he stroked her hair gently. "I'll give him a couple of weeks; see if he can clean up his act. It'll all work out." She nodded once and tightened the grip she had around his waist. "If you want you can stay with me tonight. Your dad went over to Lacy's."

Sky froze and immediately felt sick.

"What's wrong?" Barney asked after feeling her tense up in his grasp, pulling away so he could look at her face.

"I went to see Lacy last week. She was cheating on dad."

Barney exhaled loudly and shook his head. "When it rains," he muttered under his breath. "C'mon, let's go wait for Tool in the shop. I need to get another few letters done on my back and I know he's hiding good liquor."

"I can't drink," Sky reminded.

"Yeah, but I can. And I'll drink enough for the two of us."

* * *

Sky was seated on the chair next to Barney's in Tool's shop as the older man tattooed more letters onto Barney's incomplete 'Expendables' tattoo. It was the same tattoo that she saw morph and change as she got older, and still it hadn't been completed. She had ignored Tool's girl of the week, Cheyenne, and she tuned out the conversation he and Barney were having about Gunnar's dismissal. She was just content with sitting there, listening to the hum of the machine, pretending that nothing was wrong for at least a few seconds.

A loud motor ripped through the air, pulling her from her peace.

"Christmas time," Barney muttered, looking over his shoulder towards the motorcycle entrance.

"Yeah, I can smell him," Tool laughed as he turned off the tattoo gun and laid it down.

Sure enough, Lee's red sports bike came into the building and halted just a few feet away from the three other occupants of the room.

"Mr. Christmas, how are you doing brother?" Tool asked, dapping some of the blood away from Barney's tattoo.

Lee turned off his bike and pulled off his helmet, moving over to kiss Sky's forehead before he looked to their liaison. "I'm good Tool."

"What do you think?" The tattoo artist asked, gesturing towards the tattoo on Barney's back.

"It still looks like a black chicken."

"Black chicken? It's a damn raven," Barney muttered, standing up from the chair to put his shirt back on. Tool went to go lean against his bike and looked towards Lee with a grin on his face.

"For you I got a great idea. Why don't you let me doodle like a… a Charlotte's Web on your head," Tool asked, immediately earning a laugh from Sky, who desperately needed a laugh, and a small smile from Lee. "You know something different, something exciting, because you've got one of those perfectly shaped dome muscular heads. I could put a web on the top of the head. Maybe a pregnant Charlotte peeking out of your ear, coming around to make sure bugs don't come inside; her long leg dangling down your neck." At that point Lee started laughing like his daughter while Barney was grinning. "Sexy right?"

"Very sexy," Barney encouraged, lighting a cigar.

"It'll give you mystery, a little more character."

Barney noticed that Lee's smile quickly wiped off of his face and he turned back to Tool. "He looks thrilled," he deadpanned.

"How about this, I'm feeling very lucky tonight, I'm feeling very accurate," Tool said, pantomiming throwing a knife.

Lee shook his head. "Another time."

"Aw c'mon, you can take him," Barney encouraged.

"Don't encourage him."

"C'mon Christmas, there's no shame in losing," Tool taunted.

Lee pulled out one of his knives and turned around, throwing his knife at the target on the wall in one fluid motion. The knife swung wide, hitting the outside of the wall, not even close to the bulls-eye. Barney and Tool looked at it in surprise before looking back at the man. Tool leaned down to grab a knife from his boot and tossed it towards the board, hitting just off-center. Barney looked at Lee in surprise that he'd been so off his game. The phone rang catching Tool's attention and prompting him to answer it.

"You saw Lacy, didn't you?" Sky asked, hugging her knees to her chest as she looked up at her father.

Lee looked back at her with hurt in his eyes and nodded once. "Explains your shit throw," Barney grumbled, reaching back to the tattoo station to grab a full beer bottle to offer it to Lee. The knife thrower took it and nodded his thanks, downing half of it in one go. "And I explained to Sky what happened on the mission."

Lee paused and looked to his daughter. "I'm sorry, Sky. I know you were close to Gunnar."

She nodded before leaning back in her seat. "I'm just wondering how things changed so much in the last week."

"That's the number one question, isn't it?" Lee said, moving over to lean against the station his daughter was at. He reached out with one hand and without a second passing she slipped her hand into his. He squeezed it and took a deep breath, trying to remember that he still had one beautiful girl in his life that loved him and that would always be there for him.

"Okay, I've got three pieces of work," Tool said, hanging up the phone to look at Barney and Lee. "Two are walk in the parks. And one's to hell and back."

"Make the meeting," Barney answered without hesitation, causing Tool to smirk.

"Do you guys want my help for this one? You're a man down," Sky suggested only to receive pointed looks from the three men in the room. She shrunk a bit in her seat at their stares and held her dad's hand a bit tighter. "It was just a suggestion."

* * *

Sky looked up at her ceiling, trying to sort out her thoughts and feelings. Ever since she went to bed after Tool offered them their latest job, things were starting to sink in rapidly. With all the other things going on in her life, the boys would be going out on a mission that was 'to hell and back' running with one man shy. When they left, it would be just her and Tool once again and knowing the liaison he'd have Cheyenne or the next girl to come along to occupy his time. She'd be alone with just her thoughts until their job was over.

And she would have to sort out her thoughts soon.

Just like her dad, she was off her game. She had gone to see Yin just after Tool gave her father and Barney the basic rundown of the job to see if he would spar with her and instead of holding her own like she normally did, she was unfocused and easily picked apart by the martial artist. He'd even stopped in the middle of her training to point it out. She couldn't let what was happening get to her. If she was twenty and a full member of the team, she'd have to learn to stow her emotions and power through or else she'd be nothing but dead weight.

A tentative knocking drew her attention as her father poked his head into the room. "Sky, you asleep?"

"No," she muttered once, sitting up in bed to watch as he walked in and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Can't sleep?"

"Too wired up to sleep."

Lee nodded once before placing a hand on his daughter's foot that was covered by her blanket. He held onto it before looking down at the appendage with a smile. "You know, I remember when you just had tiny little feet and toes. I could fit both of them in one hand. But now…" He looked up to Sky's face and smiled slightly, removing his hand from her foot to cup her cheek. "You're a beautiful young woman, and I'm so proud of you. You're the most important person in my life, you know that?"

"I know dad," she smiled sadly before placing her hand on top of his. "I'm sorry about Lacy."

Lee let out a forced laugh and shook his head, showing a bit of his hurt in his expression. "That's actually what I came over to tell you. I know you were close with her. And with what happened with your mother… I'm sorry sweetheart. But just know I'll always be here for you."

"Same here dad."

He leaned forward to kiss her forehead before he stood up, hitting her shoulder gently. "Alright, get some sleep okay?"

"Got it. Goodnight dad."

"Goodnight Sky."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_April 25__nd, __2011_

"Hey Baby-Face, can you help me out here?"

Sky looked up from the story she was reading on her phone and spotted Caesar at the desk in the garage with his big ass canon of a gun spread out on the table and a set of cleaning supplies in front of him. She smiled in his direction and locked her phone and walked over to him, perching herself on the only clear edge of the table to look over the mess. "What do you need help with?"

"I gotta clean out my baby. She's been feeling neglected," Caesar replied, rubbing his large weapon lovingly. "I figured you'd want to help. "

"Yeah, I guess I don't have anything better to do," she replied, pulling over a seat and pointedly ignoring the fact that Caesar referred to his gun as a 'she'. She'd heard Jake call his laptop—well, _any_ electronic device within his grip really—much weirder, so she just learned to stop questioning it and go with the flow.

Caesar grinned at her and tossed her an oiled up rag so she could grab one of the large pieces of the devastating weapon. She started cleaning off the gear in her hands, making sure to get the small edges before her companion started talking again. "If you want I can help you clean your guns later."

"Yeah, I could use the help. I haven't cleaned any of my stuff since the last time I went shooting."

The large man made a noise of disappointment before a look of curiosity crossed over his face. He looked over her simply tank top, jeans and boots and smiled slightly before going back to his cleaning. "How many weapons do you have on your right now?"

"Just five," she answered with a grin. "I thought I'd tone it down since we were home."

"Girl, I feel bad for the next boy that breaks your heart," he muttered, earning a laugh from the brunette.

Sky laughed before looking up at the man. "Speaking of heartbreakers how are Jenny and the twins doing?"

Caesar immediately beamed at the mention of his family. Just a year after joining the Expendables he met Jenny Winters, a personal trainer. It only took six months before the heavy weapons specialist had proposed and after they got married they found out that Jenny was pregnant with twin girls, Haley and Celia. "Oh, they're great. Jenny's busy getting things ready for swimsuit season and the girls are getting ready for Pre-K."

"Pre-K already?"

"Yeah, my baby girls are five years old already, do you believe it?" Caesar asked, looking at the wall, lost in his thoughts. He let out a contented sigh before he went back to work cleaning his guns. "And they've been practicing their soccer skills to show 'Aunt Sky' and 'Uncle Jake' when he gets back on leave."

"Aw, Jake's going to absolutely love that when he gets back."

Caesar nodded his agreement before the two lulled into a comfortable silence, quietly going about their work. It lasted around two minutes before the large man spoke up again. "So, you know anything on this mission Barney's getting us into?"

"Nope, not a thing," she shrugged. "He's meeting with the client today while dad loads up the hangar with more supplies. All I know is that Tool described it as another 'hell and back'."

Caesar groaned. "Another one of _those_."

"You boys can handle it," Sky encouraged as she swapped out the clean piece for a dirty one to start her task over again. She frowned slightly as her mind drifted to the blonde giant that was officially off the team and she sighed slightly. "Even with a man down." Caesar didn't say anything and for that she was glad. She knew that he was the wise-cracking member of the Expendables and that he normally liked to rib everyone, Gunnar and Yin especially. "I've been putting off calling Jake."

"What are you gonna tell him?"

"I have no idea," she sighed, letting her shoulders slump. "I've gone over this in my head more times than I can count in the past few days and I've got nothing. I've contemplated flying out to his base to tell him in person, but I hate heights and I don't think I want to see the look of disappointment in his face."

"He won't be disappointed in you Baby-Face."

"Yeah he will. I was supposed to take care of Gunnar. I was supposed to make sure that nothing happened and then this."

"None of this is your fault," Caesar assured. "Besides, we can't control what Crankenstein does."

Sky tossed an annoyed look his way and he just shrugged.

The sound of a car roared in the distance before it entered the garage and Sky looked over her shoulder briefly, peeking around a few machines in order to see that Barney's car was back in the garage. The car cut off and Sky smiled, going back to her cleaning, knowing that Barney would call an Expendable meeting soon.

"Vilena? They got any work there?"

Sky's eyes snapped up and met Caesar's that were filled with surprise and confusion. "Isn't that—" Sky jumped forward and clamped a hand on his mouth to stop him from talking and giving away the fact that they were in the garage. What was Gunnar doing back? He didn't look like he had any intention of returning after leaving nearly a week ago. She heard a car door open and shut quickly before she heard voices again.

"C'mon you know you shouldn't be here Gunnar."

"Don't replace me. I'm good. I'm still good."

"You're still using. I can't trust you anymore."

There was a pause.

"You can't trust me? You can't _trust _me?" Another pause. "Be careful."

"You threatening me Gunnar?"

"Nah… I'm a nice guy."

With that the garage door closed and it became silent again. Sky lowered her hand from Caesar's mouth and sat back in her chair, looking at the heavy weapons specialist. She heard footsteps but didn't bother to turn until she heard Barney's voice.

"How much did you two hear?"

Sky looked over to see that Barney was looking their way in resignation. "Enough," Caesar answered.

Barney sighed. "I'll go get Yin and Toll. Sky, call your dad and tell him to come back for the briefing."

* * *

"Going based off the info Church gave me, there are around six thousand people on the island," Barney started explaining as he used a machine to lift an engine to maneuver it over the car he'd been working on. While the others were getting ready for the briefing he'd started working on a car he was restoring, a pet project of his. They were all seated around Barney as he completed his work, all leaning against their respective vehicles, except for Sky who was seated on her dad's motorcycle while he leaned against the desk.

"How many soldiers?" Yin asked.

"Around a hundred or so."

"It wouldn't take much more than that to control a space that small," Toll added in.

Caesar paused in his eating and shrugged. "Great, so they have a small army. What do we got? Four and a half men," he joked, gesturing towards Yin who looked less than pleased while Toll bit back a chuckle and Lee laughed.

"Not so funny," the martial artist said, looking towards the knife thrower. Lee pretended to be intimidated, but Yin quickly ignored him to look at Barney. "I need a raise."

"Why?" Barney asked without hesitation, looping an arm over the edge of the chain holding up the engine so he could lean against it as he puffed at a cigar.

"I need more money for my son," he replied. All the men—and Sky—looked around in confusion and surprise, trying to gauge the reactions of the others. "I want to send him to a better school."

"When did Yin Yang get a family?" Lee asked, verbalizing the question they were all thinking.

"I have no idea," Barney muttered.

"You don't ask, I don't tell."

"Anyway, the pay share stays the same," Barney spoke up, regaining control of the conversation, even while Caesar was tossing off looks to the martial artist. "That's the way it's gonna be. Now the target on this island is a guy named General Garza."

"What's the problem?" Caesar asked.

"Who gives a shit what the problem is?" Toll said harshly. "We've got enough problems right here of our own. We don't get rid of those first, they're gonna get rid of us."

Sky frowned and looked to the man. "You okay there, Toll?"

He just grunted in response.

"Toll Road, when's the last time you saw your analyst?" Barney asked.

"This morning."

"Yeah, what did you talk about?" Lee asked, trying to hide his amusement.

"Avoidant personality disorder," he said after a while.

Yin looked over to the man. "You think too much."

"You know Toll, you're an unusual guy and you're always going to have unusual problems, right?" Barney said, trying to placate the MMA enthusiast.

"Unusual problems? You're talking about my ear."

Simultaneously all the men groaned and started arguing saying that they meant no insult to the ear and that they had heard the ear story numerous times so it wasn't necessary to repeat. Toll wasn't convinced. "Shit no, you guys started this. We all know I wrestled in college. A common injury associated with that sport is trauma to the ear," Toll explained, not at all noticing that Caesar was mouthing the words exactly at the moment that he said them, showing just how many times the heavy weapons specialist had heard that same speech from his partner. "A clot, which if left unattended, causes a contraction in the cartilage and forms cauliflower ears."

"And your point is?" Caesar asked after Toll was done ranting.

"It ain't easy being green."

The men lapsed into a silence.

"Don't worry Toll, it's a sign that you're a badass fighter," Sky piped up as sweetly as she could, which earned a small smile from the demolitions expert. "But Barney, I don't think you were done with the plan yet, were you?"

The Italian shot her a grateful look before nodding. "Thanks Baby-Face. Me and Christmas are going to head down to Vilena to scout the island to see if we should take the job."

"How much do we get paid?" Yin asked again. "I need more money for my family."

"What family?" Barney asked skeptically.

"My family."

Barney held his hands up in the air and walked away, having had too much of his team's antics for one day.

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_April 27th, 2011_

Ducking underneath his fist, Sky rolled on the mat to evade the follow up left hook and to get behind Yin. She went to perform a roundhouse kick but Yin just ducked under it and managed to plant his boot on her butt, knocking her off balance so she tumbled forward. She ducked her neck and managed to roll before turning around only to have her legs swept out from underneath her and her back meet the mat as Yin hit her cheek again. "Better, but still no focus." Sky nodded and allowed herself to be heaved up by the martial artist so she was back on her feet.

Currently they were the only two using the training mats in the garage. Her dad and Barney had gone out that morning to fly to Vilena and Caesar was still out spending time with his family, while Toll was meeting with his analyst again to talk about his avoidant personality disorder. While everyone was out, Yin had noticed that Sky had been antsy, looking towards her phone as if it were a viper and suggested she work through whatever it was she was feeling by training. They'd been at it for around twenty minutes already and she was starting to get tired both emotionally and physically.

Sky circled up with Yin again, trying to clear her mind with no real progress. He shot forward faking a punch to her face which she fell for before he kicked at her knee, causing her to drop onto the ground. He got behind her and wrapped his arm around her throat in a chokehold before she had a chance to even yelp. "What's wrong?"

"Jake," Sky managed to sputter out as he let go of the hold. She fell back onto her but so she was sitting with one knee up and the other leg stretched out in front of her and sighed as Yin sat down in front of her, lotus style. He just waited for her to continue her explanation, completely patient. "I haven't called him yet about Gunnar and I made the decision that I would do it today."

"So do it."

"I just don't want to disappoint him."

"He would be more disappointed if he heard from someone else."

Sky bit her lip, knowing he was right and nodded before flopping down onto her back so she was staring at the ceiling. "Aren't you upset at all by any of this? I mean, Gunnar was your partner."

"Slightly," he admitted. "We may not have been the same, but I considered him a friend."

"You should tell him that sometime, he would've appreciated it," she smiled, sitting up before she raised an eyebrow at her instructor. "So, when did you get a family?"

"I didn't."

Sky laughed. "You know Barney's going to find out eventually."

Yin just shrugged.

She looked at the man in front of her for a few seconds before sighing, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm gonna go call Jake now. Wanna watch some movies afterwards?" Her mentor nodded and got to his feet easily before following her out of the garage and towards the stairs.

Sky sucked in a deep breath. She hoped that Jake would take the news well.

* * *

_Seychelles, Africa_

_April 27th, 2011_

Jensen was tapping away on his keyboard in the warehouse the Losers were using for their hideout on their latest job. They were on the small country of Seychelles off the coast of Africa, dealing with some warlord that had killed hundreds of people to make a point, including twenty Americans who had been on vacation in the spot. Their job was to take him out, clean and simple. They were all back at the warehouse, Pooch pouring over some maps of the area with Clay and Cougar—the latter pointing out the spots with the best vantage point that he would be claiming for the op—while Roque tossed in comments regarding the amount of men they saw guarding the compound during their recon earlier. Jensen's job was to hack the security feed in order to make a continuous loop of footage so Clay and Roque could sneak in and make quiet kills while Cougar sniped from his perch. Pooch was to be their backup in the off chance something went wrong and they needed a quick getaway.

So far his job was done. All he would have to do is make the security loop tomorrow and he'd just have to monitor the comms, but other than that he had nothing to do.

Jensen leaned on the back legs of his chair, looking over towards the other four men just a few feet away as they plotted. He knew that Clay would actually want him to be paying attention, but he was listening enough so he understood the plan even though his mind had started to wander. He wondered if this was what it was like for his dad and the Expendables. Did they have to sit around for hours planning and scheming, making sure to account for every possible scenario?

_Boom-Lay! Boom-Lay! Boom! _

Jensen jumped at the familiar ringtone coming from the front pocket of his gear and flailed as he tipped over in his chair, slamming onto the ground with a loud bang. He groaned in pain as he hit the floor and tried scrambling for the pocket he kept his phone in, hoping that no one else heard.

They did.

"What the _hell_ is that, Jensen?" Clay demanded as he and Roque looked at the hacker sprawled out on the ground. Pooch looked curious while Cougar just looked at the blonde with a quirked eyebrow.

Jensen settled for muttering a curse instead of answering and scrambling for his phone, pulling open pockets to get to the one that he needed. As he checked one pocket in particular—only to not find his cellular device—a picture came flying out of the one he'd just searched, sliding across the ground and landing near the sniper's boot while the hacker seemed completely oblivious as he celebrated upon finding his phone in the next pocket. Jensen jumped to his feet and righted his chair before holding up his cell phone to the group. "I've got to take this! I'll be right back!"

With that he ran off and towards the door of the warehouse, answering his phone with an exuberant 'hey Sky!'

"What the hell was that all about?" Roque asked in annoyance. "Since when are we allowed to take personal calls on an assignment?"

"Who the hell is Sky?" Pooch asked with a raised eyebrow. "My man doesn't know anyone we don't."

Clay shrugged and turned back to the plans. "Not our problem. I'll chew him out for it later."

A low whistle caught the attention of the group and they turned to see their sniper looking at the worn picture that had come out of their hacker's pockets. He looked mildly impressed and intrigued as he stared at the image. Seeing Cougar take an interest in the picture automatically got the others curious.

"What have you got there?" Clay asked.

Wordlessly he placed the picture on the table for everyone to see.

"Dayum! Who is _that_ with Jensen?"

Clay couldn't help but internally agree with Pooch's outburst as he looked at the picture in front of him. It was one of their hacker wearing another one of his gaudy shirts in some sort of tattoo shop with an absolutely gorgeous girl on his back. She had dark hair and eyes, full lashes, defined cheekbones, nice lips, glasses that made her look cute, and an absolutely beautiful smile. She had crème colored skin and from what he could see of her body it was _nice_. Her arms were wrapped around Jensen's neck, her face was cheek to cheek with their hacker and they were both smiling at the camera.

"Sky," Cougar said simply. When the three men looked at him in confusion he flipped over the picture and pointed to where it said 'Jake and Sky'.

"You're kidding me. _That's_ the girl that Jake's talking to right now?" Roque asked, skeptically. "Since when does he have game like that? He can't even talk to women."

Clay shook his head. "Looks like our hacker is full of surprises."

* * *

"Hey Sky!" Jensen beamed as he slipped out of the warehouse and over towards the van that Pooch would be using tomorrow during their job. He looked up at the sky to see that it was still bright enough that he didn't have to worry about stumbling into anything in the dark so he opened up the van door and sat down on the corner. "Man it's been a while since I've heard from you! How've you been?"

_"Hey Jake, I'm okay. How are you?"_ His sister asked in a voice that immediately told him that she was anything but okay.

"Sky what's wrong?"

_"Just talk to me for a little bit, okay? I just want to know how you're doing right now." _

Jensen tightened his muscles in his legs and arms slightly to keep himself calm. It was obvious that there was something wrong that she wasn't telling him and that whatever it was, was bothering her. But he complied with her request regardless. "I'm doing okay. I'm actually on an assignment right now."

_"Shit, really? I didn't mean to bother you. I'll just call back—"_

"No, no, you're good. Honestly, I was just waiting around in our base camp while everyone else planned so you didn't interrupt or anything. And you know you're never a bother. But get this, I'm in Africa! Well… off the coast of Africa, really. We're in Seychelles, but I can't say what we're doing. Classified and stuff. You know how it goes."

He heard her laughing slightly on her end of the line and gave a small smile. _"Jake, you have no idea how much I miss you right now." _

"What's the matter, Sky," Jensen said in a softer voice. He shifted his position so he was leaning with his back against the front seat and his legs in the back of the van. "C'mon, talk to me."

_"Lacy cheated on my dad."_

Jensen blinked in surprise. Lacy cheated on Lee? But those two were so in love. He opened his mouth to say something to his sister, to assure her that everything would turn out okay, but the second she started talking it was like the floodgates opened up.

_"Dad went out with the others on a mission and I went to go see Lacy and I ran right into the douche bag. I felt sick and I didn't know what to do and I know I talked with Lacy but I can't really remember what because I was **so** upset and sad and I just drove off and ended up crying in some parking lot. And… and then when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did because I'm the worst excuse for a sister on this damn planet and—"_

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second," Jensen quickly cut in. "As much fun as it is to hear someone else ramble on for a change, I'm stopping you right there. You're not a bad sister. You're amazing."

_"Gunnar started using again."_

The hacker froze, all his muscles tightening at once at the simple statement.

_"I'm so sorry Jake. The day they left on the mission I noticed his pupils were dilated and I asked him and he said he had started again. And I couldn't stop him before he went on the mission and apparently he went crazy and he wanted to hang a fucking pirate, so Yin stepped in and Gunnar pulled a knife on him and Barney pulled a gun. And… Jake, Barney let your dad go."_

"Barney got rid of him?" Jensen asked with barely disguised sadness.

_"I'm so sorry Jake. I couldn't keep my promise. I tried to keep him out of trouble, I really did but… I'm sorry." _

Jensen closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. He couldn't believe his father was using again. And this time he'd gone too far. Getting high before going on a mission? That put the entire Expendable team in danger. How could his dad do that to them, to him? If something seriously bad had happened, he could've lost his father. He could've lost his family. He ground his teeth, wondering what could possess his father to be so stupid and reckless before he remembered Sky was still on the line.

"Sky I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay? None of this is your fault. My dad is an adult and he made a choice. The choice _he_ made is what forced Barney's hand, okay? I don't blame you."

_"But—"_

"No 'but's'. This wasn't your fault," he assured before running a hand through his hair. "So, can you tell me where dad is now? I need to go down there and knock some sense into him the second I get stateside."

_"I-I haven't seen him; not since last week anyway. I tried texting and calling him, but he hasn't been answering."_

"Is it going straight to voicemail?" Jensen asked, his mind already working.

_"No, it's ringing a couple times first."_

"Good, so I can track him," he was on his feet within seconds already walking towards the warehouse door. "Listen, I'll find out where my dad is and I'll take care of everything when I get back alright? Stop blaming yourself."

_"Thank you. I love you."_

"I love you too. Now I'll call you later okay?"

_"Okay, bye Jake."_

"Bye Sky... hey, that rhymed!"

_"I'm hanging up now."_

Jensen laughed and smiled slightly at the hint of amusement in Sky's voice. She was feeling better at least. He hung up his phone and put it back into his pocket before he walked in and shut the warehouse door, walking back over to the guys. They all looked his way the second he walked in and he grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, there are apparently a lot of things going on back home that were really super important so I just needed to make sure everything was okay and nothing was like exploding or anything."

The guys were silent for a moment. Roque turned to Clay, a perplexed expression on his face. "How did _he_ get _that?_"

"Huh?" Jensen blinked in confusion.

"Jensen, I'll let it slide this time, but no more personal calls when we're on a job, got it?" Clay ordered in his no-nonsense voice, completely ignoring Roque's comment.

"Yes sir, you got it," he agreed immediately, smiling happily.

Pooch shook his head and muttered something about the 'Twilight Zone' before he started pouring over the maps again with Clay and Roque following suit. Cougar had the faintest hints of a smile on his face as he walked over and wordlessly handed the picture back to the hacker before returning to the table.

"Oh thanks Coug! I didn't even realize I dropped that!"

* * *

Hanging up the phone, Sky felt lighter than she had in days. She could breathe easier without feeling there was a weight crushing her chest and she felt more optimistic. Jake was a stubborn genius and if he set his mind to finding his dad and making him see reason then nothing would stop him until he did. She took a deep breath, knowing that she wasn't alone in this and that Jake was on the case, before she sat up from her bed and went to Yin's room.

He was crouched down in front of his TV, looking over a stack of DVD's by his feet, trying to select one. "How'd it go?" He asked without even looking up.

"It went better than expected," she admitted, walking over to sit on the edge of Yin's bed. "Jake's in Africa right now on an assignment?"

"What assignment?"

"Don't know. He couldn't tell me." She peeked over the man's shoulder and noticed one that she actually enjoyed. "Hey, put in _Jurassic Park!_ I love that movie."

Yin rolled his eyes but complied, popping in the DVD before he walked back over to sit at the headboard of his bed, one leg over the other as he stretched out. He motioned for Sky to move closer and rest against the headboard as well and she crawled over and propped herself up with a pillow behind her back. "You know, it's a good thing we're both small so we fit on the bed without problems."

Yin glared.

"I'm going to get murdered during my next training session, aren't I?"

"Yes."

"Aw man."

Yin let out a small chuckle as the movie started. Sky watched with a smile on her face. She absolutely loved _Jurassic Park_ and she and Jake watched it all the time when they were kids. Whenever it came on TV they always stopped whatever they were doing to watch it and they'd rope whoever else was in the area to watch it too. It was when the power in _Jurassic Park_ went out that the emotional exhaustion had finally hit her. Her eyes started closing against her will and she could feel herself leaning farther into Yin. She tried to cling onto consciousness, to stay awake and finish the movie, but her heavy eyelids had other plans and soon enough she was asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_April 28__th, __2011_

It had been a long time since Sky was able to sleep through the night without waking up every hour on the hour. It was a habit that she'd picked up from the other men who had always woken up every hour, so accustom to waking up to take shifts whenever they needed lookouts in enemy territory. But today was a welcomed surprise. She snuggled deeper into her sheets and shifted around to find a more comfortable position. Part of her more conscious mind was curious as to when Yin brought her to her room, but the lovely part of her mind that she was listening to was more than willing to sleep in.

But of course, the universe was against her.

Right as she started drifting off into a deeper sleep her phone started ringing right by her ear. She shot up and scanned her area, trying to find a weapon. It took her a few seconds to realize that she wasn't in danger before she exhaled and tried to calm herself. Her hands were shaking and she felt uneasy, which was no doubt attributed to being woken up by the loud ass ringing of her phone. There was no way she'd be going back to sleep any time soon.

She let out a curse before grabbing her phone, her bad mood growing worse when she saw the name on the screen. Why the hell was Lacy calling her at nine in the morning? She really wanted to ignore it. She really wanted to pretend she didn't see it. But she was too damn curious for her own good, so she picked up the phone against her better judgment before flopping back down on her bed. "What do you want, Lacy?"

_"__S-Sky… I need some help."_

Immediately Sky was alert. She had _never_ heard Lacy sound so broken and vulnerable before. "Lacy what's wrong?"

_"__I just… I really need to see you right now. I-I know I have absolutely no right, but—"_

"Where are you?" Sky asked, already hopping out of bed, walking over to grab her backpack quickly. She was internally thankfully that she still had on her clothes from the night before so she didn't have to look for clothes. She grabbed a pair of socks and her steel-tipped boots and walked out of her room, grabbing her keys on the way out.

_"__I'm at home."_

"I'm on my way right now," she assured, practically running down the stairs. She walked through the tattoo portion of the shop and out the front door, making a beeline for her car. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Can you tell me what happened?"

_"__I made a mistake."_

Sky could hear the slight tremor in Lacy's voice and she clenched her jaw, climbing into her car and tossing her bag into her passenger seat. She pressed her phone between her shoulder and her ear so she could awkwardly try and put her socks on underneath her steering wheel before she started the car. "Just hang tight, I'll be right there."

_"__Thank you."_

Sky paused in her movements, wondering what the hell she was doing. This was the woman who broke her father's heart—who broke _her_ heart—and she was rushing to go help her without knowing what she was getting into. She grabbed her phone before she rested her forehead on the steering wheel, closing her eyes. Lacy was never _just_ some woman to her or to her father. And no matter what she did, Sky didn't think she could bring herself to hate her completely.

"See you in ten," Sky finally muttered into the phone before ending the call. She tossed her phone into the cup holder before she pulled away from the sidewalk, forgoing her boots for the time being. She made it to Lacy's house in a record time and quickly slid her feet into her boots before grabbing her bag, phone, and keys and climbing out of her car. She nearly tripped over the laces she hadn't bothered tying, but just kicked out at them, making it work until she could get to the front porch.

The second she rang the doorbell the door opened.

Sky's eyes widened upon spotting the large bruise on Lacy's left cheek, creeping up towards her eye. It looked fresh and it looked like it was painful. "Oh my God, Lacy, what happened?" She asked.

Lacy looked around, almost as if she expected someone to show up and see them, before she grabbed the younger girl's arm gently and pulled her inside the house, locking the door behind her. She pulled her all the way into the kitchen before she started talking. "E-Eric… after you showed up the other night and saw him, he started getting really jealous and possessive," Lacy started, sitting at the bar stool, wringing her hands out in front of her. "And then when your dad showed up…"

"He started hitting you," Sky guessed.

Lacy nodded.

Sky exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering what she should do.

"I was so stupid."

Sky looked up curiously and saw the woman in front of her glaring down into her hands. "I hadn't heard from Lee in over a month and I thought he didn't care. I thought… I thought he had just up and left me. So I let Eric fill the loneliness, but I should've known it wouldn't work out." Lacy looked up with tears in her eyes and met eyes with the young girl. "Your father was the only man that really loved me. And there was no way I could replace him. I'm so sorry for what I did and I'm so sorry I hurt you both."

Sky stared at Lacy for a few seconds, looking deeply into the woman's eyes, searching for any sign of lies. When she found nothing but sincerity and vulnerability she gave a small smile and reached into her pocket to grab her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling my dad," she answered easily, dialing her father's number.

Her father picked up after the first ring, his voice sounding breathless. _"__Sky, honey, where are you? I just got back and you're not here. Yin said he put you to sleep in your room."_

"I'm at Lacy's house."

There was a tense pause. _"__Why?"_

"Dad…" She trailed off and looked to Lacy. "She needs you right now."

There was no response. Her father said nothing, and for a few moments, she feared that her dad wouldn't care about what happened to Lacy. After all, it wouldn't be unreasonable of him considering what she did. Hell, _she_ didn't need to be concerned with what happened to Lacy. But just as she was letting those thoughts pass through her mind he spoke up again. _"__I'll be right there."_

"Thanks, bye."

Sky hung up the phone and placed it in her pocket before relaying the message to the woman in front of her. Lacy just nodded and fell silent before Sky rested her forearms against the counter. She exhaled slightly before she tasted her breath and grimaced. "Uh, Lacy?"

"Yeah?" She asked, the woman looking up.

"Do you still have some of my stuff here?" Sky asked, shifting on the seat in embarrassment. "When you called I was asleep and I, uh, forgot to brush my teeth this morning, or shower… or change."

Lacy stared at the girl for a few seconds before she giggled. Her giggle morphed into full-blown laughter and Sky felt her cheeks turn the slights bit pink as the woman smiled and tried to compose herself. "Yeah, I still have some of your clothes. I didn't expect you to show up as fast as you did. I thought you hated me."

"I wanted to," she answered honestly, with a sheepish grin and a shrug. "But I'm just too fond of you."

Lacy smiled at the girl and gestured towards the hallway. "You're clothes are upstairs in the guest bedroom like they always are. Feel free to make yourself at home."

"Thanks Lacy."

"No, thank you."

* * *

By the time Sky finished brushing her teeth she heard the front door open and poked her head down the stairs to see what it was. Predictably, her father was standing at the doorstep, examining the injury on Lacy's face with an expression that almost promised murder.

"Dad, remember you don't like closed spaces," she reminded, startling Lacy and prompting her dad to look towards her. She sat down on one of the lower steps of the stairs and looked at him meaningfully. "Prison wouldn't be good for you. And then Barney and I would have to break you out, and that just takes way too much planning. Just an ass-kicking should do the trick."

"I want to break his jaw," Lee retorted, his tone hard.

Sky shrugged. "So break it. Just don't kill anyone."

"W-What are you two talking about?" Lacy asked, looking back and forth between the father and daughter, a confused and slightly fearful look on her face.

"C'mon with me," Lee said easily, side-stepping the question to pull her towards the door gently. "Let's go have a conversation with our friend. Sky, I want you back at Tool's shop with the others."

"I'm gonna take a quick shower first, if that's okay with Lacy."

Lacy blinked in confusion before nodding numbly, still unsure what was happening.

"I'll make sure to lock up," Sky said before getting up and walking back up the stairs to the guest bedroom on the right. She heard Lacy asking her father what was going to happen again before the door closed and she was alone in the house. She went through the closet in the guest bedroom and found a pair of jeans and a black tank top with her favorite navy blue knit cardigan. "Huh, I wondered where that went," she muttered to herself as she grabbed the clothes out of the closet. She grabbed a spare pair of underwear that Lacy kept in a small container in the corner of the closet before she walked into the bathroom to shower and change. She finished in ten minutes, and took another two minutes to fix her hair, adding conditioner to her wet locks so that they wouldn't frizz up.

She balled up her training clothes up and walked out of the bathroom so she could stuff them into her bag, making sure they were towards the bottom so her weapons were at the top. Instead of grabbing the pair of heels she had in the closet that would go with her outfit, she slipped on her boots once again. She always felt more comfortable with boots or sneakers. They were more secure and easier to fight in.

Once she was sure that she was done and that everything was turned off and tidy, she grabbed her stuff and walked back down the stairs, turning off lights as she went. She made sure to lock the door with the spare key that Lacy had given her before she took off in her car, heading towards Tool's shop. She made it in no time at all and walked into the tattoo parlor to see that the others were all sitting around, seeming to be waiting for her.

"There she is," Yin piped up.

Toll scanned her attire. "You look nice."

"I took a shower and changed at Lacy's place," Sky shrugged. "I only have nice clothes over there."

"Well, you're here in time to find out we're not taking the job," Caesar said, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table in front of him.

Sky frowned and walked over to sit on the couch beside the man. "Why?"

"It's a suicide mission. Church is really a front for the CIA and the mission is to take out one of their own that went rogue. They couldn't afford sending in SEALS so they wanted us to go in so it would be our numbers that would dwindle in casualties," Barney explained. He sighed and gestured towards the others. "You guys hang out if you want. I'm gonna talk to Tool when he gets back and see if we can't get another job lined up."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_April 29__th, __2011_

It was eight when Sky woke up the next morning. It was largely because of Caesar and Toll howling loudly and whistling for some reason or another. She quickly got up and took a shower and got ready for the morning before getting dressed in the same clothes she had on the day before. They weren't dirty and she hadn't done laundry so she didn't feel like searching for clothes when she had perfectly good ones lying out. After she finished lacing up her boots she walked downstairs only to realize that the reason Caesar and Toll had been acting rowdy was because her dad only _just_ showed back up at the shop with a small grin on his face. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was doing out all night. Or rather _who_ he'd been doing.

Sky let her disgust be known.

The rest of the morning had passed normally enough for them. She ate her Cap'n Crunch with Caesar as he ate his gourmet breakfast in the kitchen and afterwards the group had all congregated in the room, talking about everything under the sun. Caesar had talked about an upcoming soccer game Haley and Celia were going to be in, Toll talked about his latest session with his therapist, Yin merely added small comments to the conversation, while Lee explained how he'd reconciled with Lacy. Sky didn't really contribute to the conversation unless she was directly addressed. She was more than happy to just sit back and listen to the others speak. Around eleven, Caesar had left to go see Jenny and the girls with Toll tagging along, leaving just Lee, Yin, and Sky to talk. The conversation had turned to Sky's martial arts training and how she was progressing.

It was around one when Barney strolled into the room, looking determined.

"I'm going back to Vilena."

Immediately the conversation stopped as the three turned towards the Italian and surprise. Lee was the first one to speak. "Yeah? Something change?"

"What's the plan?" Yin asked.

"There is no plan."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, we need a strategy—"

"I'm going, you're not."

"What do you mean you're going alone?" Sky asked, frowning.

"What are you, outta your mind?" Lee demanded.

Barney shrugged. "It's personal business."

"You don't owe that woman anything."

"I didn't say I did."

Lee shook his head. "You wanna kill yourself? Fine, go ahead. It's _your _call."

"I won't kill myself," Barney assured before turning around to walk towards the door leading to the garage. "You guys take care."

"Hey, wait a second," Lee shouted, walking after him while Sky and Yin shared silent looks. "Don't lay this guilt crap on us, we don't deserve it."

"This is _my _choice, there's no guilt," Barney said before looking over towards Sky and Yin. "There's no guilt. Take care."

With that, Barney walked out of the garage, while Lee whirled around in anger, storming out in the other direction. "Yeah, fucking his choice," he muttered. "I'm getting Caesar and Toll! You two stop him from doing anything stupid!" He shouted over his shoulder before he walked out completely.

Yin hopped off the table wordlessly and tapped Sky's arm. She sighed slightly and stood up with a grin on her face. "Up to us to keep the peace again," she said. The martial artist smiled slightly at her before he walked out of the kitchen and into the garage with Sky trailing at his heels. They saw Barney's car ahead of them and it had just started up as Yin grabbed the passenger door and pulled it open. He stepped to the side to allow Sky to hop in first before he hopped in and closed the door, sandwiching the brunette girl between the Italian and himself.

Barney didn't look pleased.

"I said I'm going alone."

"You're going to need someone to drive your car back here," Sky shrugged, shifting in her seat to get a more comfortable position. She turned to look at her Godfather with a smile. "I don't trust those characters out there by the hangar. They're pretty shifty."

"Yeah, you can't trust all those trees," he deadpanned before looking at Yin.

Yin looked at him briefly before looking out the windshield. "I'm going too."

"C'mon, Yang get the hell out."

"Just drive," the Asian ordered, rolling up the window on his door.

Barney sighed in exasperation before he complied, driving out of the garage and onto the streets. Sky was tapping her fingers against her thigh in a tune that only she seemed to know, making the only sound in the car. That continued on before Barney reached into his back pocket to pull out his lucky ring, a silver skull ring with small diamonds in the eyes. "So why are you doing this?" He asked, adjusting his grip on the wheel so he could place it on his finger.

"Friends die together," Yin responded before he reached out and snatched the ring from Barney. The Italian immediately went to reach for it but nearly ended up smacking his Goddaughter in the face in the process, so he settled for glaring briefly.

"Give me the good luck ring, c'mon."

Yin just continued to examine it.

"Don't make me hurt you, Yang."

"No fighting while I'm in the middle please," Sky piped up with a small smile on her face.

"Speed is better than luck," Yin replied, handing the ring back.

Barney snatched it and placed it on his finger. "Whatever."

They lulled into another silence which was broken this time by Yin.

"It's difficult."

"What is?" Sky asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My life is difficult, I need more money."

Barney rolled his eyes. "Why is that?"

"Because I work harder than the rest," Yin said as if it were obvious.

"No you don't."

"Yes I _do _because they're taller," the martial artist assured, using hand gestures as if that would help his case. "Everything is harder for me. When I get hurt, the hole is bigger, because I'm smaller." Barney had a smile on his face and was making 'mhm-ing' and nodding, prompting the man to continue while Sky bit her lip to keep from laughing. "When I travel, I need to go farther."

"I know, because you're smaller, right?" Barney asked.

"Yes."

It was a safe bet to say that Sky was thoroughly amused by the conversation that was being had in the vehicle as she tried to stifle the small giggles that were escaping her lips. It was easily one of the most entertaining conversations that she had heard her normally serious mentor have. She was going to have to tell Jake about it the next time he was back on leave. She was tempted to take her phone out of her pocket and start recording, but they would obviously see her do it and she didn't want the conversation to end just yet.

"My life is more difficult than you think," Yin continued as Barney came to a stoplight underneath an overpass. "I need more money."

"I know, you told me," Barney replied as cars in the other lane stopped at the red light around their car. "For your family, right?"

"I don't have a family."

Barney didn't look surprised. He just smiled. "I know."

"Maybe one day I will," the martial artist mused.

Sky was tempted to say that Yin should apply for online dating, but she didn't get a chance to voice her comment. Just beside her she saw Barney's eyes widen as a UPS truck came screeching to a halt in front of them, boxing them in. He looked out Yin's window and his body tensed. Within seconds he had grabbed her by the back of the head with one hand and Yin with the other and forced their heads into their laps, shouting for them to get down just as bullets started hitting the sides of their car, ringing out with little pings.

Sky's heart started beating at a mile a minute as the bullets hit the car, while she felt hands on her, forcing her down into the foot space underneath the dash. She didn't know if it was Barney or Yin, but all she knew was that someone was fucking _shooting _at them and the only thing keeping them alive was the modifications Barney made to his car to make it bullet proof. "Sky, the glove box!" She heard Barney shout. Without hesitation she popped it open, finding two automatic hand-guns with extended magazines. She handed one to Yin and grabbed the other one for herself. She heard the engine rev before they were going backwards, crashing into something. Sky jerked forward slightly and hit her forearms on her seat. A hand grabbed hers and she looked up to see that Yin was grabbing onto her wrist, holding it tightly so she didn't bump around as he popped the door open and shot at their attacks from the space in between the door and the car.

Sky peeked up and managed to see that Yin had killed the men in the car on their right and Barney immediately used this as an opening, gunning his car in that direction, crashing the front bumper into the blood filled car so they could make an escape. The car picked up speed and she felt Yin's hand tighten around hers. She looked up into his eyes and saw worry and fear. It took less than a second to realize it wasn't fear for himself; it was fear for her.

This wasn't practice at the range. This wasn't going over potential scenarios in combat situations. This was real. The danger was real.

"Sky, get up here and stay down!" Barney ordered as he shifted gears, trying to pick up speed.

She wasted no time in scrambling up onto the seat, making sure to keep her body low. She gathered her breath and tried to calm herself. She needed to be level-headed and she needed to be thinking clearly. She turned around so she was facing backwards and looked out the back windshield, sucking in a deep breath when she spotted around four cars behind them with two of them picking up speed. "We've got a lot of people on our tail!"

"Yin, get out there!" Barney ordered.

"Why me?!"

"Because you're smaller!"

If they weren't being shot at, Sky would've laughed.

Yin glared at the man before letting go of Sky's hand for the first time. He sat forward, reaching into the glove box for the two extra magazines, dropping out his empty one to replace it with a new one. He looked at the girl and tapped the side of her forehead with his index finger. "Focus," he said loudly to be heard over the engine and the bullets. Sky nodded wordlessly before Yin opened the passenger door, shooting at the cars closest to him before he hopped into the back of the truck, firing at the pursuing cars.

They blew through an intersection and a car hit the side of theirs, jerking the vehicle around and ripping the door clean off. Sky let out a slight scream before she felt a hand grab the back of her jeans, pulling her further away from the door so she didn't fall out.

"Sky, you've got a gun in your hands so you better start using it!" Barney shouted, casting a glance towards her as he let go of her pants to grab the stick again. "Hang out the door and hold onto the seatbelt. The second you see someone turning a gun your way you get your ass back in here, got it?"

Sky felt her hands shake slightly as she looked out the hole that used to be a door. Wind rushed into the vehicle, whipping her hair about and she could see the street and traffic blur by. Her adrenaline spiked and she felt like she was going to hyperventilate, but she nodded either way. She took the safety off her weapon and wrapped her left hand around the seatbelt on the wall at least four times, turning so her back was to the hole. She sucked in a deep breath she turned, standing up so her body was hanging outside the car. Her body was twisted awkwardly so it was pressed against the side of the truck because she couldn't shoot with her left hand with as much accuracy. She took just a second to aim and squeezed the trigger, rapidly firing into the driver's side of the windshield. Red exploded behind the windshield of the car as it crashed into a cement column holding up the overpass.

"Sky, get in!"

Sky quickly twisted around and jumped back inside as they blew by more traffic and she felt sick knowing just how close she had come to being crushed by the moving van they'd just evaded. "I got one," she managed to say.

"Good girl," Barney complimented. "Now hang on."

Barney took a sudden—and very illegal—turn, coming out from underneath the overpass so they were just behind a large truck on regular streets. Sky peeked up to make sure Yin was okay in the back before she noticed that they had lost another two cars. There were still two cars on their asses, but the large odds stacked against them were starting to dwindle.

Barney drove around the truck, getting in front of it earning a loud honk before he was forced onto the right outside lane, partially driving on the grass and gravel. Sky scooted farther inside so she was pressed against his side, trying to avoid the open doorway at all costs. She did _not_ want to fall out at the speed they were going. Barney slowed down to allow the truck to pass before he jerked his wheel to the left, getting away from the edge and crashing into one of the cars pursuing them. Sky gripped tightly onto the seat with her left hand, trying not to jostle around in the cabin before a scream from Barney made her heart stop.

"Gunnar!"

It was as if time started to slow. The bullets pinging off the side of their car sounded distant and the roar of the engine was now a small rumble. She spun around in her seat so she was facing Barney and peered through the cracked window. Even through the cracks and deformities in the glass, Sky saw him as clear as day. Gunnar was driving one of the cars chasing them. She felt like she was punched in the gut and all the air left her lungs. Nothing made sense.

The car jerked to the left again, and Sky had to scramble to grab onto something least she be thrown out of the vehicle. She looked back and saw that Gunnar's car had fallen back so it was in line with their other pursuer, his passenger shouting something at him.

"C'mon Gunnar," Barney muttered to himself as he shifted gears again.

Sky looked backwards, unable to tear her gaze away from the car the blonde giant was driving. She was vaguely aware that the other car had gotten in front of them, but she didn't pay mind to it. Without thinking she wrapped her wrist around the seatbelt again and hung out the side of the car waving her gun in the air frantically, trying to get the blonde man to see her. There was a split second in which she thought he wouldn't notice her before their eyes met. He saw her, she knew he did. "Gunnar, stop!" She screamed as loud as she could. She knew he wouldn't hear it; _she_ couldn't even hear it over the sound of the wind whipping past her. She just had to try _something_.

A hand grabbed the back of her jeans again and she was yanked into the car once again just as they were pushed onto uneven road. She fell back against Barney and felt him pull her closer so her legs weren't near the edge. "Don't be an idiot!" He shouted at her just as they made it back onto the street. "Yin, get the back car! Sky, take out the one in front!"

The confirmation from Yin had been a new round of bullets being shot back towards Gunnar's car.

"But Barney, Gunnar's in—"

"Take out the front car, Sky! Let Yin worry about the back one!" Barney ordered again, tossing her a quick glance before gluing his eyes onto the road again. "And don't do anything stupid!"

Sky bit her lip and nodded once before she wrapped her wrist around again and waited until it was all clear. She hung out the side of the car and started firing bullets into the front vehicle before she heard a _click_. She cursed loudly before ducking back inside, rifling through the glove box trying to find a new magazine, only to come up empty. "I'm out and Yin took the other mags!"

"You got anything on you?"

"Just my knives!"

"Where's your Beretta?"

"Not on me!"

"Why not?"

She had a large urge to roll her eyes but she knew it wasn't the time. "I didn't think I'd need it!"

"We'll talk about that later!" Barney shouted before he switched gears to hit the car in front of them and spin it into the other lane where a garbage truck smashed into it, taking it out of the equation.

Sky looked towards the back and saw that Gunnar was still on their asses, but his passenger was nowhere to be seen. "It's just us and Gunnar, now!" Barney nodded once and quickly turned into a warehouse district. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Barney was heading right towards a glass window of a warehouse. She didn't even have time to curse as he crashed through it, jolting her forward. She grabbed onto the chair tightly so she didn't fly into the windshield. She looked up and noticed that Barney made a wide arc so he was facing Gunnar's car. "Yin, bail!" He shouted loudly. Sky looked in the rearview and saw that Yin had jumped out of the back, rolling to lower the impact and land on his feet before she turned to see that Barney was in a game of chicken with Gunnar's car. "Sky, hold on!" Barney shouted before he veered off at the last second. A pole appeared in front of them and Sky closed her eyes as the crash came, throwing her into a world of darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Okay guys! We're getting down to the end here! This is the second to last chapter before this story is complete! But immediately after this story is done, I'll be posting the first chapter of the sequel of the story, following the events of this one. It'll be called 'Life of a Mercenary' and it'll still be in the same category and everything, but it'll be tackling the second Expendables movie and the Losers movie! I really want to thank everyone who followed, favorite, and reviewed this story! I appreciate it so much and I hope you enjoy the rest of this story!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_April 29__th, __2011_

It was foggy. It was hard to think. It was damn near impossible to see; but that last one probably had to do with the fact that her eyes were still closed. She had absolutely no idea where she was and how long she'd been there. All she knew was that the floor was itchy and hard, there were cool circles on her face and neck, and there was massive amount of pain in her right shoulder and her head making her mind hazy and cloudy. She could vaguely hear something. It sounded off in the distance, almost like it was in a tunnel.

Sky tried opening her eyes. Her first attempt proved futile as her heavy eyelids refused to open, but on her second attempt, she mustered enough energy to pry them open so she could look around her. Everything was blurry and she could just make out something out of place dangling in front of her. She strained her eyes to see despite the pounding in her head and managed to realize it was a hand in front of her; a hand with a familiar ring.

Suddenly everything started to come back to her, rushing her all at once to make the pain in her head worse. She was lying down on the floor or the car on her right side inside the damn warehouse after the car crashed. She moved slightly and felt the cool circles fall of her face. It took a lot of effort and eye strain to realize what it was before she saw that the circles were pieces of glass. Barney was sprawled out on the seat in front of her unmoving. Her heart lurched.

"Barney," she tried to say, though it sounded more like a slur to her ears. Or maybe her ears weren't functioning right either. "Barney," she tried again, tugging at his hand with her left arm. When it became apparent he wasn't going to be moving any time soon she tried to worm her way out of the car, out the open door. The haze in her mind made it difficult to shimmy out, and her shoulder didn't help matters either. It took a lot of effort on her part, but after what seemed like an eternity, she had rolled out onto the concrete floor, landing on her injured shoulder. Pain immediately shot through her system. She cried out and tried to fight the wave of nausea that overcame her.

It was a futile effort because two seconds later she was vomiting on the concrete.

Her body shook from the heaves and she used the side of the car and her good arm to pull herself to a seated position and then into a standing position. The entire world started spinning as she made it to her feet, but she knew she couldn't stop moving. Yin was somewhere in the warehouse. He'd be able to help Barney. Cradling her arm against her chest she used the car as a crutch to move forward, her legs feeling like they were made of lead. It was hard for her to see in front of her and the second she let go of the car, she crashed onto her left forearm and knees. Another wave of nausea took over her and she had to breathe in through her mouth to refrain from emptying her stomach again.

A crash sounded to her right loudly, making her headache grow worse. Something flew out just a few yards in front of her, landing on the ground. She blinked rapidly, trying to get the blurry image to clear up before she realized it was Yin on the ground, with Gunnar walking to stand over him. The world started to tilt and she felt like she was swaying on her knees, but she didn't pry her eyes away.

"Gunnar," she said.

Or at least tried to.

Regardless of whether or not she said his name correctly, she had gained his attention. His head whipped around so he was looking in her direction. She couldn't see his expression but she could tell he was looking at her. He muttered something that she couldn't quite hear before he reached down and lifted Yin over his head, holding him up threateningly. It took her several seconds before she noticed the pole that was in front of the blonde giant and the second the dots connected in her brain she felt like she was going to throw up again. Gunnar was going to impale Yin on the pole.

"Gunnar!"

A gunshot rang out and hit Gunnar in the chest, prompting him to drop the martial artist as he landed on the ground. Sky watched in horror as he crumbled to the concrete and she tried to crawl over to him, even as the color on the edge of her vision started to fade. "Gunnar," she mumbled, practically dragging herself over. She was only a few feet away before her head spun again and she landed on her left side, still staring at the man she'd known since she was a child.

Arms wrapped around her and she felt herself being pulled into strong grip. She felt a hand on her cheek and soon her gaze was pried away from Gunnar and on Yin. He was looking down at her in concern. His lips were moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. The room started to spin violently and the colors started to fade until once again everything was black.

* * *

The next time Sky opened her eyes she was immediately blinded by a bright light. She snapped her eyes shut and tried to listen to what was happening around her. She heard a faint beeping and someone whispering. She felt someone's hand in her left one and she didn't feel nearly as crappy as she did when she first woke up. She tried opening her eyes again and instead of closing them, blinked them to try and get adjusted to the light.

"Sky? Sky honey, are you awake?"

She turned her head slightly to the side and saw that Lacy was seated in a chair next to her bed, tears in her eyes and her hand firmly in hers. She blinked slightly and started looking around only to see that she was in a hospital room. She tried to sit herself up, but she found that her arm was immobile and shifting around made her headache start to return, so she just gave up and settled for looking back at the woman at her bedside. "Lacy…" she muttered, her throat feeling dry. Immediately, Lacy let go of her hand in order to reach for a cup of water on the table beside her. She guided the straw to the young girl's lips and helped her to drink. The cool liquid moistened her mouth and made her feel infinitely better. "What happened?"

"You were in a car accident," Lacy replied, placing the cup back down. She turned, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone were there. When she saw that there were doctors walking around the open hallway she scooted closer and lowered her voice. "Barney brought you and Gunnar in. He said that they were driving through a bad part of town and Gunnar got shot while you got into an accident. Your right shoulder was dislocated and you've got a concussion."

"Gunnar?" Sky muttered, holding her breath.

Lacy smiled slightly and nodded. "Gunnar's out of surgery and he's recovering in ICU. The doctors say he's going to make it."

Sky exhaled a shaky breath and closed her eyes. Gunnar was alive. She was alive. She adjusted herself slightly and had to wait a second as the room gave a small spin. "So I take it you know what we do now?"

"Yes I do," Lacy said before shaking her head. "Your dad was here earlier, but he and the others went off on some mission. I offered to stay with you."

"Thank you."

"You had me really worried you know."

"I'm sorry I worried you," she said before she thought about the blonde man in ICU. "When can I see Gunnar?"

Lacy shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I can ask the doctor for you next time they come in here, but all I know is they're only letting one person in at a time. I thought about going, but… I just don't know him all that well." Sky nodded once before she patted around with her left arm, feeling for something on her body. "What are you looking for, sweetheart?"

"My phone," she muttered, a sick feeling forming in the pit of her stomach as she thought about what she had to do. She was vaguely aware that her heart monitor picked up a jump in her heartbeat but if Lacy noticed it she didn't mention it. "I've got to make a call."

* * *

_En Route to Fort Remington_

_April 29__th, __2011_

Jensen leaned back against the wall of their transport, eager to get back to the base so he could get a decent night's sleep. The job, for once, had gone exactly as planned. There were no hiccups or unexpected disasters that normally accompanied their missions. The security loop was turned on at precisely the right moment without anyone being any wiser to the fact—something that Jensen applauded himself for. Cougar had taken out any and all threats around Clay and Roque and the two men had taken out the warlord and made it out before they leveled the compound, leaving the rest of the soldiers in chaos and disarray. Absolutely no one followed them. Pooch had even been bored that he didn't really get to do much.

That had made Jensen feel uneasy.

And he'd made his thoughts known.

"Seriously does anyone else think that went way too easy?" Jensen asked for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"Ask that again, and I'll stab you."

"C'mon, it makes sense!"

Roque looked up at the blonde, looking like he really _was_ a split second away from stabbing him with the knife he was toying around with in his hands. Pooch just rolled his eyes at the blonde, Clay looked to be ignoring him, and Cougar had his hat over his eyes as he leaned against the other end of the copter so he had no idea if the man was even conscious or not.

"Jensen, give it a rest," Pooch said in exasperation.

"But think about it," the hacker prompted again, ignoring the collective groan from around him and Roque getting a tighter grip on his knife. "Our missions are _never_ this easy. I think it's a sign that something bad is gonna happen."

_Boom-Lay! Boom-Lay! Boom!_

Jensen jumped and immediately started reaching for his phone.

"Jensen, don't answer it."

The hacker looked to his CO and frowned pathetically, looking like a kicked puppy. "But this could be really important. I mean, our easy mission had to be a sign for something and—"

"Jensen shut up before I stab you," Roque growled out.

Jensen pouted.

Clay sighed and shook his head. "Whoever it is can leave a message. I said no more personal calls on a mission and this mission doesn't end until your ass is back on base, got it?"

"Besides, you're probably getting worked up for nothing," Pooch assured, shifting into a more comfortable position in the copter.

Jensen looked around at the men he called his team before he sighed and removed his hand from the pocket he had his phone. They were right. He probably was just being superstitious or reading into it too much. It was probably just Sky calling to say that Lee and Lacy made up or something like that. Everything was probably fine.

* * *

After calling Jake with no response, Sky spent the next twenty-four hours in and out of consciousness. Whenever she was awake, Lacy was by her side making sure she was comfortable. Jenny and the twins had showed up somewhere around the afternoon, bearing balloons and get well cards. They'd stayed for around two hours, making sure she was okay and getting to know Lacy before she had passed out again. By the time she woke up, Jenny and the twins were gone and it was just Lacy again.

Currently Sky was awake and staring blankly at the wall while Lacy slept in the uncomfortable looking chair beside her bed. She knew it was somewhere around midnight, but she couldn't sleep because she'd been doing that for the better part of the day. Her thoughts started to wander towards Gunnar and how he was doing before she thought up an idea. Lacy had told her what room the blonde giant was staying in just before she fell asleep the last time. And with all the medication she was being given, she wasn't in any more pain.

Making sure she didn't wake up the woman beside her she slipped out of bed and fought back a hiss when her bare feet hit the cold-tiled floor. She grabbed the IV holder and started walking with it, pulling it behind her with her left arm since her right arm was in a sling. She snuck out of her room with minimal difficulties and made her way onto an elevator without people looking her way. She was internally grateful that Lacy had insisted on bringing her comfortable clothes to change into, so instead of wandering around in an open-backed hospital gown, she had on her sleep sweats and a t-shirt.

It took less than five minutes to make it to the ICU and to sweet-talk the nurses to allow her to visit Gunnar for a few minutes. She walked over to the door and peered into the room, seeing that the lights were off except for one overhead light and some light from the TV. The blonde giant was seated upright in his bed, watching the screen, with a large bandage on his chest from where the bullet had pierced. She felt a weight lift off her shoulders seeing the man alive.

"Hey Gunnar," she muttered, walking into the room.

Within seconds his eyes were on her and he shifted slightly on his bed, a frown pulling at his lips. "Sky," was all he managed to say. She gave him a tight smile and walked further into the room, heading towards the seat by his bed and settling herself in with her IV bag behind the chair. She sat and looked at him in silence while he did the same. "What happened to you?" Gunnar finally asked after a few minutes.

"Concussion and dislocated shoulder," she answered before shrugging with her good shoulder. "My concussion doesn't look like it'll become problematic and I'll be out of this sling in a month so I'm getting discharged tomorrow."

"I didn't know you were in the car."

"It shouldn't have made a difference," Sky replied immediately, tossing the man a look. "It was Barney's car. Any of us could've been in it." Gunnar ducked his head, staring at his fingers over her sheets and she sucked in a deep breath. She just wanted to skip over the part where she was supposed to yell at him and ask him how he could be so stupid. She was too tired for that. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Like shit."

"Getting shot does that to you."

"It wasn't just because of the bullet," he muttered, closing his eyes to lean back against the bed, breathing out through his nose. Sky just watched him, spotting the remorse that flickered across his face. "I'm sorry, Baby-Face. I'm really sorry about everything. I should've just listened. I shouldn't have started using again no matter how much I missed Jake and I'm so sorry I put you and the others in danger. If you don't want to talk to me again, I understand."

"I wouldn't have snuck up here if I didn't want to talk to you," Sky said gently, using her good hand to grab at one of his. He opened her eyes and looked at her and her smile became a bit warmer. "I forgive you, Gunnar. I'm just glad you're okay."

Gunnar gave her a smile and shook his head. "You're a good kid. Jake would be so disappointed in me if he knew."

Sky tensed slightly, unconsciously squeezing his hand.

He turned a questioning gaze her way before he noticed the guilty expression on her face. He read her like a book and he closed his eyes as he exhaled loudly. "You called him didn't you?"

"I had to. You know he'd be mad at _all_ of us if he found out after the fact. He didn't pick up because he was on a mission, so I left a voicemail. He'll probably fly down here the second he hears it though."

"He's going to hate me."

"He won't hate you. You're his father. He could never hate you."

Gunnar didn't say anything but just nodded and looked to the TV. Knowing she wasn't going to get any more in the form of conversation, she just sat back in her chair with her hand still in Gunnar's much larger hand. She looked to the screen that had captured his attention and saw that it was old re-runs of _MASH_. She smiled slightly and settled in to watch it. She knew that eventually Lacy would wake up and freak out wondering where she was and she knew that the nurses would come in and shoo her out. But for the moment she was just content sitting with Gunnar and watching the old comedy while praying that the rest of her family would return from the mission safe and sound.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Here it is! The last chapter! It's kinda sad that I'm finished with this story so fast, but immediately after this chapter is posted I'm uploading the first chapter of the sequel, 'Life of a Mercenary'. It'll still be in the same category and everything, for anyone who'll try to find it! Once again, I really want to thank everyone who followed, favorite, and reviewed this story from the beginning or anyone who just stumbled onto this story by chance! It means so much to me and I hope you enjoy the LAST chapter of this story! And remember to look out for 'Life of a Mercenary!'

Disclaimer: I don't own the Expendables or the Losers, just my OC, Sky.

* * *

The Kids Are Alright

_Fort Remington, North Carolina_

_April 30__th, __2011_

Oh how he had missed his bed. Jensen was curled up on the bed, holding his pillow tightly as if it were the key to his survival. They had made it into Fort Remington in the wee hours of the morning, somewhere around one. Instead of heading to their rooms after their debriefing they decided to head out to eat since they were all starving. It was around three in the morning and they were just stumbling back into their barracks to get some rest.

"Man Coug, I'm beat," Jensen muttered as he tightened his grip on his pillow as he addressed his roommate who finally stepped out of the bathroom, changed into only his sweats with his dog tags around his neck and his hat still on his head. "I bet I could sleep for two days straight."

"Your phone," Cougar said in response, moving to lie down on his own bed, removing his hat to leave it on the bedside table.

"Huh? What about my phone?"

Cougar tossed a look his way. "Sky's voicemail."

It clicked in Jensen's head and immediately he scrambled for the phone on his end table. He had it in his hand and was going through the mail before he frowned and looked up at the sniper. "Wait, how'd you know who called?"

"Same ringtone as before."

"And how did you know her name's Sky?"

"You shouted it."

"Oh," Jensen muttered before he went through his phone and raised it to his ear, listening to the automated voice tell him that he had a missing message. Suddenly he was grinning mischievously at the sniper, prompting the man to roll over on his side, trying to avoid whatever Jensen was going to do. "Aw man, I just remembered! I totally need to introduce you to Sky! You'd like her! She's—"

The hacker grew silent.

Knowing that 'Jensen' and 'silence' usually meant 'trouble', Cougar looked back towards the blonde. Jensen was sitting on the edge of his bed, his muscles tense and his face pale. He looked horrified by something and within seconds he shot off his bed like a rocket, dropping his phone onto the floor as he tried to find clothes. "Jensen, _que paso?"_ The sniper asked, pushing himself up, noticing the frantic movements of the tech.

"I need to get down to New Orleans," he blurted out, yanking on the first pair of pants he found. "My dad's been shot."

* * *

He knew it. He _knew_ something was wrong, but he pushed it out of his mind because the others thought he was being paranoid. He knew he should've answered when Sky called him the very first time. His dad had gotten shot and he had no idea why or by whom. All he knew was that he was—thankfully—alive and recovering in the ICU of the local hospital by Tool's shop.

"Hey man, it's gonna be alright," Pooch replied from his spot at the pilot's seat. He guided the helicopter easily through the skies, and Jensen made a mental note that he owed Pooch one whenever the whole situation was sorted out. He knew that Pooch didn't have to take him to New Orleans, but he was glad that the man had offered to fly him in one of the helicopters on base.

"I hope so," Jensen sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Thanks again for this Pooch."

"No need to thank The Pooch. The Pooch just wants you to see your pops and make sure everything is good."

Jensen was about to make a smart remark about Pooch referring to himself in the third person again, before he saw the Johnson Memorial hospital up ahead of them. "There, right there!" He exclaimed, poking against the glass with his finger. "Bring it to around fifty feet above the helicopter pad on the roof!"

"Fifty feet?" Pooch echoed in confusion, only to see Jensen working out of his seat to head to the cabin. Only when he saw him pull out the rope used for repelling did Pooch's eyes widened. "Aw, _hell_ naw! Jensen, I know your white ass isn't repelling outta this damn helicopter!"

"Why not?" The tech questioned as if it were the most obvious action.

"Just let me land!"

"Nah, don't worry about it! I'm gonna be here for at least a day so I don't need you waiting around! I'll have my uncle fly me back!"

"Your uncle flies?"

Jensen flashed him a grin that said he had a lot of secrets the team didn't know about. "Uh-huh!" With that Jensen opened the door to the helicopter and tossed the rope out so it landed on the roof below them. "Fly home little Pooch! Go Petunias!" And then just like that, Jensen was out of the helicopter. Pooch waited until Jensen landed on the ground, gave a thumbs up, and ran into the hospital before he shook his head and started flying off.

"Crazy kid."

* * *

Jensen had pounced on the first nurse station he found and started talking before the elderly woman even lifted her head up. "Hi, do you know where my father is? I heard he was in ICU and that he was shot and I don't know what room and I'm really worried. My sister called and said he was alive, but I was freaking out and I just got into town and I don't know where—"

"What's the patient's name, sir?" The nurse asked without batting an eyelash. She had no doubt worked with frantic family members before.

"Gunnar Jensen. I'm his son, Jake Jensen. I can show you an ID if you want but it's only my military ID since I didn't think to grab the other—"

"Mr. Jensen is in room 403 in ICU, just a floor beneath us."

"Thank you!" Jake beamed before rushing to the nearest elevator. He jabbed the number '4' over and over again waiting for the doors to close and continued to jab it, willing the contraption to move faster. When the doors opened he shot out and looked for the different rooms, scanning the numbers before he found '403'. Without knocking or hesitating he threw open the door and ran in, only to see his father freeze with one hand over the IV needle in his arm, looking like he was about to yank it out. He was wearing casual clothes instead of a hospital gown and it became obvious to the young genius that his father planned to make an escape.

"Jake!" Gunnar beamed, straightening up and letting his hands fall to his side, plans of escape forgotten. "C'mon let me get a good look at you!"

He wasted little time walking over and pulling his father into a tight hug, sighing in relief when he realized that his dad was safe and alive. His father winced slightly and the hacker removed his tight hold to study the giant of a father he had. The shorter blonde noticed a white bandage peeking out of the top of his dad's wife beater, right above his heart. "You were shot," he said, looking up at his father seriously.

"It wasn't all that serious," Gunnar shrugged.

"Who shot you?"

Gunnar shifted slightly on his feet before lowering himself to sit down on the edge of the bed. "Barney."

Jensen blinked. Soon he laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't hear that right, who did you say shot you?"

"Barney shot me, kid."

"Barney," Jensen repeated, his eyes going wide. He sat down in the chair beside his father's bed so he could look at his face. "Barney shot you? What do you _mean_ Barney shot you? Why would he shoot you? Why—" Jensen saw the guilty look on his father's face and he got a sinking feeling he knew why the Italian had shot his father. "Dad, what did you do?"

"I was… I almost _hurt_ Yin," the man answered after a few seconds of hesitation.

The way that his father said 'hurt' didn't sit well with him and the sinking feeling got worse. "Did you try to kill Yin?"

"…according to Barney."

"You tried to _kill_ Yin?!" Jensen said in the harshest whisper he could manage. He looked into his father's eyes to see that thankfully they weren't dilated, but that didn't help his mood. "Dad, are you using again?"

Gunnar's eyes darkened slightly. "Baby-Face told you."

"Hell yeah she told me! Why wouldn't she? You're killing yourself! And this time you took it too damn far! You almost killed Yin and for what?" Jensen asked, noticing that his dad couldn't meet his eyes. "For a high? You were going to kill Yin for a high? Dad, Barney could've _killed_ you if he wanted. He doesn't miss, you _know_ that!"

"I-I didn't know what to do," Gunnar mumbled, shaking his head. "I missed you and I didn't know how to deal with it."

"You could've called me!" Jensen retorted, tossing his arms into the air dramatically. "You could've texted me! Hell, I would've accepted a _tweet!_ You could've done anything else, so _why_ did you start using again? You put everyone in a bind because you started with meth again! Sky had to call me saying she was the worst sister in the world because you got kicked off the team! She blamed herself because you started using again, because she couldn't help you! And Barney had to _shoot_ you! Do you understand how big that is?!"

"I know…"

"No, you don't! I could've—" Jensen felt his hands shake and his throat felt tight as his emotions started to take over. He exhaled and reached forward to grab his dad's arm, the anger starting to melt out of him. Immediately the older man looked up into his son's gaze, looking hopeful. "I could've lost you dad. I could've lost you all because you're killing yourself with meth. And I-I can't handle that, okay? Mom's a damn wreck because of what drugs did to her and I can't see you end up like that. I love you too much. So… so promise me this is the last time. Really promise me you'll get clean and _stay _clean."

Without hesitation Gunnar started nodding vigorously, his hair flopping in front of his eyes slightly with the motion. "I swear to you Jake, I'll get clean. I won't start using ever again, I swear on my life."

Jensen exhaled and then smiled at his father. "Good, because I still need you to meet my team you know. I can just picture their faces now when they see how badass my father is and how badass the rest of my family is."

"Damn straight," Gunnar laughed, reaching forward to haul his son off the seat he was in to pull him into a hug. He smiled into his son's neck before kissing the back of his head. "Man, I missed you kid. Now, do me a favor and help me break outta here. Baby-Face is getting released today and there's no way in hell I'm staying here when she's getting out already."

"Wait a second, what do you mean Sky's getting released?" Jensen asked in confusion as he moved over to grab a cotton ball and Band-Aid from a table nearby.

Gunnar frowned in confusion as his son pulled out the IV in his arm, quickly replacing it with the cotton ball and placing the bandage over it to hold it in place. "You mean she didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

* * *

"Are you sure you've got everything?" Lacy asked for around the third time.

Sky smiled at her as she looked around the bed she'd been staying in for the past two days. Finally she was being released and Lacy was buzzing around making sure that they weren't forgetting anything important. Lacy held onto the backpack that she'd brought over after the first day full of spare clothes. She also had the ice packs for the young girl's forehead and shoulder in her hands. Sky had her phone resting insider her sling—which was awkward and itchy on her shoulder—and she had her jacket in her other hand. Making one final glance around, Sky nodded. "Yeah, I'm set to leave."

"Skylar Christmas!"

Sky jumped in surprise before whirling around to see Jensen standing in the doorway with Gunnar behind him. She noticed the way her brother looked at her sling and her forehead—which was now a nice purplish color on the right side—and sighed. "Shit."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you were in the hospital too?!"

"In my defense I was on pain meds and it slipped my mind. Lacy was a witness."

"I witnessed everything," Lacy added on, nodding sagely as if that would help the situation.

Jensen glared and shook his head. "You are going to explain everything that happened on the way back to the shop, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Sky muttered, knowing her brother wouldn't rest until he got the full story anyway. She huffed, walking out of the room and passed the two Jensen's. "I swear, you're back for five seconds and you're already going all protective."

"That's my job as an older brother! That and tormenting you!" Jensen shouted after her, a small smile tugging on his lips before he walked after her.

Gunnar and Lacy stood in their spots awkwardly shifting on their feet before the blonde giant jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Uh… we probably better catch up with them."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Lacy agreed before they walked out of the room and hurried to catch up with the two bickering siblings that were waiting in front of the elevator. As soon as they all piled in, Lacy turned to look at Jensen. "So, Jake, right?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, that's me! You're Lacy!" Jensen smiled once he realized that she was talking to him.

"Did you drive here?"

"Drive? Nah, that's not cool enough! I flew here in a helicopter and repelled onto the roof. James Bond status."

Lacy blinked before looking at Sky in confusion.

She laughed. "He's probably not kidding."

"O-Okay… well I drove here but I only have a Prius so it might be…" she trailed off looking towards the two large men awkwardly, "a bit of a tight fit."

"Clown car it is," Gunnar smiled.

The elevators opened and they all walked out before a buzzing sound caught there attention. Sky blinked before she reached into her sling and pulled out her phone. She checked the text message she got before a large smile spread across her face. "The mission was a complete success with no casualties. The boys are coming home."

* * *

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

_April 30th, 2011_

It was loud and rowdy in Tool's shop as they celebrated another successful mission. Tool was propped in one of the tattoo chairs while Caesar leaned against the front desk taking a drink of his beer. Toll was seated on the couch, with Yin, Barney, and Gunnar all sitting on their motorcycles and Sky leaning against the pool table next to her father, all listening to a story Jensen was telling about his latest mission with his team. He was making grand gestures and acting out what happened. Sky had a good idea that a large portion of the story was being altered in order to make himself look better, but she didn't care. All her boys were together and safe and that's all that mattered. She was a bit sad that Lacy wasn't there—the woman having opted to go back home to get much needed rest and give them time together—but she knew that Lacy would be present at some Expendable celebrations sometime in the near future.

Explaining to Jensen what happened that landed Sky in the hospital hadn't been fun at all. His emotions and facial expressions had changed dramatically throughout the story and had it been under different circumstances, she would've been amused. When she told him she was in the car with Barney and Yin he was worried. At the part when they were being attacked and chased he was fearful. Telling him how she was hanging out the door and shooting at guys caused him to look proud. But when she told him that _Gunnar _had been the one driving one of the vehicles, he was _not_ happy. For the rest of the story he'd had his jaw set and his eyes fixed firmly out the window before Sky ended the story. Only two seconds after she finished did he start lecturing his father _and_ Sky. He seemed livid as he glared at the back of his father's head from his seat and made him swear at least ten different ways that he'd never _ever_ so much as _think _of using meth again. And Sky just got a lecture about not telling him all the details. But he eventually got over it and was back to his hyperactive self in no time.

"…and that's how I single-handedly saved my entire team," Jensen completed his story, looking entirely too satisfied with himself.

"That's my boy," Gunnar laughed, causing the rest of the group to break into laughter as well.

"Tell me again how you took down that bear?" Toll asked in amusement, causing Jensen to grin sheepishly.

"And the army of soldiers," Yin piped up with a raised eyebrow.

Jensen smiled. "Hey, I have mad fighting skills, Yin! I bet I can even take on Sky now!"

"That's because my arm's in a sling," she deadpanned.

"So I win by default!"

Sky glared while Jensen just grinned.

"Hey, just think about it this way, Baby-Face, you'll get that sling off just in time for your twentieth birthday," Caesar reminded.

Lee groaned before placing an arm gently around her shoulders, taking care to mind her injured arm. "I don't like hearing that."

"I don't know, Lee, she handled herself pretty well out there," Barney piped up with a shrug. "Did pretty good for her first time. I think she'll be a good addition."

Sky beamed at her Godfather and he winked in response.

Tool downed a shot of… well Sky wasn't really sure what it was, but he downed it and soon he was smiling at her father. "Alright Mr. Christmas, now that your lady troubles are over, it's time for our knife throwing contest."

"You really wanna do this?" Lee asked, a slow smile forming on his face.

"Like I said before, there's no shame in losing."

Lee smirked and kissed his daughter's forehead lightly before he pulled out his throwing knives and walked in front of the side door directly in front of the skull target board. Tool smirked and followed him over, only to be followed by Caesar who wanted to instigate the competition further. Lee grabbed one of his knives and reeled back his arms to toss it forward, hitting near one of the eyes on the board before Tool quickly threw one of his smaller silver throwing knives, hitting the other eye next to Lee's with Caesar shouting loudly and pointing to the knives on the board. The others all started clapping and cheering loudly, joining in on the fun. Lee reeled back and threw another one with Tool following suit quickly, this time their knives crossed over to Lee's was above Tool's first one and Tool's was under Lee's first.

"Too! Close! To! Call!" Caesar shouted punctuating each word with a bicep flex.

Sky rolled her eyes at him before Jensen joined her at the pool table. Jensen was whistling innocently before poking at her injured shoulder, shooting pain through her right side. She hissed and kicked him in the back of the knee so he fell onto the ground. "Aye, ease up on him Baby-Face," Gunnar called out the second his son hit the ground.

"He poked my shoulder!" Sky pouted childishly.

Jensen's pout looked almost identical to hers. "My finger just slipped!"

"You finger doesn't _just_ slip!"

Gunnar rolled his eyes and laughed before Barney looked his way with a small smile. "So you're back from the dead, huh? How you feeling?"

"Good, considering you could've killed me," the blonde man replied.

"I forgive you," Yin said, looking over to join in the conversation.

Gunnar smiled. "Okay."

"And I would've win."

"Of course," Gunnar said with a wink and a shit-eating expression on his face that showed he had a differing opinion than the martial artist. Yin just smiled and laughed, taking it all in stride.

"Hey Gunnar," Toll called out, catching the blonde's attention as he moved across the room to get closer to the contest. "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger; therapy, buddy."

"Man's got a point," Barney agreed.

Gunnar just nodded his agreement before they all turned their attention back to the knife throwing contest. Lee reeled his arm back and was about to throw before he stopped and gave a little laugh, turning to look at the tattoo artist behind him near the open doorway. "You know what, I'm going to do you a favor Tool," he said, fiddling with the knife in his hands as he moved towards the open door nonchalantly. "I once knew a man named Tool," he started in the rhythm of a limerick.

Sky helped Jensen to his feet before they scrambled over to see what was happening with the other Expendables following them, standing in the once cleared strip in front of the target board so they could see out the door. "I love poetry," Barney snickered as Lee continued.

"…who to me was the epitome of cool," Lee said walking out the doorway and into the back alley in between the garage and the shop. Tool frowned in confusion as did the others, but the former SAS didn't stop. "Good with a knife… _bad_ with a wife." The others all laughed at that one while Tool couldn't help, but smile. "But to think he could beat me… _dreaming_ he'd defeat me! Cool Tool… you gotta be a fool." They all looked at each other wondering what Lee was doing as he turned around with his back to them. Within a split second, he whirled around and tossed a knife back through the opened doorway while the others shouted and moved out of its path before the knife hit the board, burying itself right into the bulls-eye. "Oh yeah!"

Sky laughed from her spot next to Jensen as Caesar started shouting at Lee that he could've killed one of them, while Barney was applauding the effort and Gunnar was pronouncing Lee the winner. Her blue-eyed brother nudged her shoulder—her _good_ shoulder this time—and smiled as they both watched an argument erupt with Tool saying he could top Lee's throw while no one really believed him. "Hey Sky?"

"Yeah, Jake?"

"I love our family."

Sky linked her arm in his, sharing a smile with him before they both turned to look at the arguing mercenaries that they called their family. "So do I."


End file.
